International group releases document on accessibility to air travel for disabled people

Canada-based international non-governmental organisation, the International Partners for Aviation Development (iPADIS), has released a Model Policy and Guidance on Accessibility (MPGA) for the aviation sector. This is to support the inclusion of, and improved accessibility for, people with disabilities seeking to travel by air.

In many countries and societies around the world, people with disabilities encounter many challenges owing to a lack of awareness and a poor culture of inclusion. Regarding air travel, obstacles they face include a lack of access infrastructure, and a lack of harmonised regulations, procedures and practices with regard to accessibility.

“iPADIS strongly believes that the aviation industry’s long-term sustainability and continued acceptability depends on the sector being sensitive to its social responsibility and responsive to the needs of all users,” highlighted iPADIS founding president Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. “In this regard, we are pleased to promote and support the development of enabling policies and harmonised regulations and procedures to ensure that all persons with disabilities, including a rapidly ageing population, have access to the same opportunities for travelling for business or pleasure as any other passenger, anywhere in the world.”

The MPGA is meant to help governments and stakeholders adjust and fine-tune their regulations, services and operations, to address the requirements of people with disabilities. The guidance includes the relevant international treaties, standards and recommended practices. It also includes exemplary national standards, best practices from the industry, and the views of people with disabilities. It is practical, adaptable to differing architectural and operational circumstances, performance-based and non-prescriptive. It indicates the minimum recommended targets that operators and countries should achieve (and, ideally, exceed). Its format is user-friendly.   

The MPGA complemented an already available iPAIDS initiative, the Accessibility Evaluation and Promotion for Air Travel and Tourism (ACCEPT) programme. Among other things, ACCEPT helped governments and air travel and tourism organisations to evaluate their accessibility regulations and procedures, against the global standards, guidelines and best practices.

Aliu, who hails from Nigeria, is trained as an aeronautical engineer and is a former president of the council of the intergovernmental International Civil Aviation Organisation. He held that position from January 2014 to December 2019, having been re-elected in November 2016. He founded iPADIS in 2020.