Okaz

I DO not blame the airline company for banning passengers with special needs from boarding aircraft, especially when there are no one traveling with them to provide necessary assistance.

The regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) state that the maximum number of passengers with special needs is determined according to the ratio of the number of service hosts on board an aircraft.

The passenger with special needs should explain his condition and his need for assistance when he or she makes the reservation and demand the service in advance.

In airlines all over the world, the passenger with special needs demands services when making a reservation, in this case passengers on wheelchair.

Most of the complaints by passengers with special needs are about the non-availability of this service when they did not demand in the first place when making the reservation.

Away from emotional reaction, which sometimes is the case when discussing an issue that has gone viral on social media, determining the number of passengers with special needs in accordance with the number of staff on an aircraft is logical in order to provide the service needed in case of an emergency evacuation.

While airline companies are asking whether any on-board assistance is required when a booking is made, it also seems logical to schedule the shifts of hosts accordingly.

The questions that we want answers for from the specialized people in the aviation sector are: Do aviation systems lack flexibility in such situations and become too rigid? Are airlines unable to find emergency solutions when faced with such situations?