DGCA ruled no airline can refuse to fly Physically Challenged person

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 13 March 2014 ruled that no airline can refuse to fly physically challenged person. In this regard, the regulator of aviation industry in India, DGCA has notified the modified Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) and issued new detailed guidelines for the physically challenged travelling by air.

As per the new norms

•    Airlines and airports need to provide the required facilities and assistance to meet the needs of the disabled.
•    All the facilities should be made public through their websites within three months.
•    It would be compulsory for the airlines and airports to impart necessary training to their staff to assist such passengers.
•    The airlines have to make provisions for guide dogs accompanying persons with disabilities, provided they were trained, harnessed and vaccinated.
•    The airlines should not insist for medical certificates or special forms from persons who wish to travel without an escort.
•    The certificates could be demanded only when the traveller has some disease or there is a possibility of his or her medical condition aggravating during the flight.

Besides, for the traveller DGCA asked the concerned traveller to again inform the airline 48 hours before the flight about his or her specific nature and level of special assistance required while embarking, disembarking and in-flight.

About Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation. It is under the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.

It is primarily responsible for regulation of air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards.

The regulations are in the forms of the Aircraft Act, 1934, the Aircraft Rules, the Civil Aviation Requirements, the Aeronautical Information Circulars.  

The current Director General of DGCA is Dr. Prabhat Kumar.