(Ottawa) Air Canada’s president and CEO and advocacy groups have presented opposing views on the accessibility of the country’s air system.
Michael Rousseau, who heads Canada’s largest airline, testified before the House of Commons transport committee on Tuesday. He argued that an overwhelming majority of the 1.3 million passengers who requested special assistance last year had a positive experience.
As part of a three-year plan, Air Canada has committed to implementing various measures such as the creation of a position of director of customer accessibility – now in place – and the requirement for a annual training for its 10,000 front-line employees.
However, disability rights advocate David Lepofsky said complaint statistics don’t reflect the experience of many people with disabilities, who sometimes wait hours without assistance or have to instruct employees on how to guide them. .
Lepofsky says Canada needs stronger rules and more rigorous enforcement to ensure compliance and accountability.
Multiple incidents involving Canadian airlines have occurred over the past year, including the case of a British Columbia man with spastic cerebral palsy who was forced to drag himself off an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas.