MUMBAI: Not being assured of airline assistance for boarding and de-boarding at airports, especially foreign ones, can make air travel quite stressful for visually impaired solo travellers. A professor from Pune had a difficult time early this month after his request for assistance at Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi airport was accepted by the airlines only after several protests.
Last week, Sanjay Jain, associate professor at ILS Law College, travelled solo to Johannesburg to attend a disabilities conference. He was booked to fly Air Tanzania and return on Etihad via Abu Dhabi. He called up the airlines for assistance a week before his flight. “I’m visually impaired, I cannot board without help,” said Jain.
“Air Tanzania promptly responded to my request for assistance with boarding.” With Etihad, it was first a no, then a yes on day two, provided he produced a medical certificate. “Then they agreed to assist, but refused to send a mail or a screenshot or some kind of documentation that I could rely on as proof, if they eventually denied help at the airport.
