East Asia Disability Studies Forum 2019

Barrier-free air travel for persons with severe physical disabilities――Based on interviews with disabled passengers

Daisuke Tenbata
JSPS Research Fellow PD / Chuo University
Co-presenters: Tomoko Kitaji and Naoko Saito

Q What is the total aviation cost for people with severe physical disabilities and limitations on mobility?
Vanilla Air incident in 2017

Persons with disabilities using wheelchairs may be denied
boarding simply because they cannot walk on their own.

➡

Compared to train and bus companies,
airlines may be less concerned with servingthe needs of passengers with disabilities.

➡

？

Is barrier-free air travel possible
for people with severe disabilities
and limited mobility

Purpose of researchThis study explored the concept of an inclusive society by highlighting the problem ofbarrier-free air travel for people with severe physical disabilities and limited mobility.

Research method

By interviewing three people with severe disabilities and various limitations on mobility
who have had considerable experience boarding airplanes1 and investigating the actual situationof barrier-free aviation, we documented the current state of the burden on each interviewee.

Results

The survey results are organized in the following table: “Burdens of air travel and reasonable accommodations
for people with severe physical disabilities and limited mobility.”

Basic information
Name・Aﬃliation Disability / illness
Lower body paralysis

Mr. Hideto Kijima due to a spinal cord injury
Representative of Hideto Kijima
Barrier-free Research Institute

Daisuke Tenbata
JSPS Research Fellow PD /Chuo University

Mr. Hiroki Okabe
Beyond the NPO boundary,Wheelchair user;

Reasonable accommodation2

Mental burden, physical burden, adjustment cost・Airlines should not・Anxiety that boarding may be refused or other last minute diﬃculties at the gate.

refuse to allow boarding.

・I must always check whether airports and aircraft are equipped with adequate

does not require assistancefacilities to assist the disabled.

Swallowing diﬃculties,

Physical burden, economic burden, adjustment costrequires assistance・Especially when traveling・Scissors are required to chop meals, but inﬂight utensils are limited for eating and drinking are limited due to safety regulations. abroad, it should be possible
・When traveling to France, the assistantsʼ reservations could not be changed, only canceled and rebooked,
to change the ticket
resulting in double fees and a large economic burden.
information if there is a・Troublesome negotiations for necessary accommodations (seat selection at the wheelchair window,change of assistant after thewheelchair information / state of disability FAX, schedule adjustment of accompanying assistants
reservation has been made.

ALS3

Physical and economic burdens

language disabilities,
visual disabilities,
wheelchair users;(Amyotrophic lateralsclerosis)

President/

Wheelchair /Former President ofVentilator user;

Japan ALS Association

requires assistance≪Burdens common to all three interviewees≫●Adjustment cost
It is doubtful whether some of the documents requestedby the airline or airport staﬀ are actually needed.
●Physical burden
Since the aisle is narrow and diﬃcult for the disabled
person to go to the toilet, each person has made theirown arrangements regarding excretion.
Use a urine bottle in the seat, refrain from drinking water,
endure changing diapers, etc.

ABurdens of air travel(3 to 4 persons), safety conﬁrmation when boarding, etc.).

・There is a need for a helper
discount.
・Long ﬂights are in business class (2 seats) due to the physical burden, but the partitioning hinders the assistantsʼ work.
・When traveling to Ireland, the cost for 4 accompanying assistants was 3 million yen, which is a heavy economic burden. ・Reduce the burden causedby coordination negotiations.
・Depending on the aircraft model, it may be necessary cross through the partition when boarding.
・Deployment of an assistance
Adjustment costspace on board.
・One assistant must manage all of the coordination negotiations because these negotiations are too
・Strengthen communication
complicated for a second person to take over partial responsibility.
with sites along the route.
① Request a medical certiﬁcate from the doctor.
②Schedule adjustments for the accompanying assistants (4-5 people).
③Call the airline to inform them in advance that the passenger uses a wheelchair / respirator.
④Providing documents (respiratory / aspirator / battery / wheelchair information, medical certiﬁcate) by FAX.
⑤Seat assignments, securing seats for the assistants to sit next to and behind the disabled person.
Negotiate with adjacent passengers on board.
⑥Negotiate whether the disabled person can lie back with the reclining seat lowered during takeoﬀ and landing.
⑦Domestic: Since the respiratorʼ s battery is lead, it cannot pass through the standard x-ray inspection,and the instruction manual must be presented whenever requested.
Overseas: Checking of puriﬁed water / catheter / gastric ﬁstula requires an explanation /negotiation at each inspection point.
⑧Further explanation: It is necessary to repeatedly explain and negotiate at each transfer point due tothe lack of communication between the airline staﬀ and sites along the subsequent route.

pick up! Adjustment cost4
Considerable time and eﬀort is spent on thevarious negotiations that occur because of
the passengerʼ s disabilities.
A wider range of adjustments must be madefor passengers with disabilities and theircaregivers.
(Ex. Caregiver's physical strength and consideration
for working hours during long ﬂights)①For people with severe physical disabilities and mobility problems, air travel causes four types of burdens (mental, physical, economic and adjustment).
②Economic burden and adjustment costs vary depending on the extent of disability.
Economic burden: If an assistant is needed, the disabled person will need to travel business class, which is more expensive.
Adjustment cost: The burden is greater if an attendant or a ventilator is required.

③Persons with severe physical disabilities who need a ventilator have not only a greater economic burden but also signiﬁcant adjustment costs.

ASociety is designed for the convenience of healthy people, while individuals with disabilities are pressured to pay additional fees for necessary services. In order to realize an inclusive society,
it is necessary for healthy persons and those with disabilities to share the adjustment costs. For example, airlines must take the initiative to save records at the support desk and to provide
information regarding physical barriers for each aircraft model. It is also considered necessary to provide seamless support such as assigning a CA to facilitate the ﬂight from check-in toarrival, especially when obstacles are severe.
I would like to express my deep appreciation and thanks to Ritsumeikan University's Institute for Survival Studies, which paid the travel expenses of the authors.
1 Interviews were conducted on July 30, 2019 Hideto Kijima (has successfully ﬂown to more than 170 countries around the world); August 16, 2019 Daisuke Tenbata (has successfully ﬂown to more than 100 domestic and international destinations;, August 14,
2019, Mr. Hiroki Okabe (has successfully ﬂown to 60 domestic and 7 international destinations since he began to require a ventilator).
2 “Reasonable consideration” is detailed in Satoshi Kawashima et al. (2016). (Satoshi Kawashima, Yuriko Iino, Miki Nishikura, Ryoji Hoshika, 2016, “Rational Consideration: Opening and Opening Dialogues” Yuhikaku.)
3 With ALS, the limbs, throat, tongue, and muscles necessary for breathing gradually fade along with sensory perception. However, intelligence, vision, hearing and visceral function are commonly maintained. (Intractable Disease Information Center, 2015,“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Designated Intractable Disease 2” , Intractable Disease Information Center website (acquired August 15, 2019, http://www.nanbyou.or.jp/entry/ 52)
4 See “Tenbata et al.” (2013) for “adjustment costs” . (Daisuke Tenbata, Keiichi Murata, Takuro Shimada, Eriko Inoue, 2013, “Skype use by severely disabled people with speech disabilities: Towards a society with choices” , “Ritsumeikan Human Science Research” 28, 13- 26.)d.tenbata@dai-job.co.jp