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Etihad apologizes for denying service to disabled Indonesian woman
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A screenshot of Dwi Ariyani's petition against Etihad's discrimination on change.org that has gone viral. A caption accompanying the picture says, "Just because I used wheelchair, doesn't mean I can't fly!!! So the next time you don't know how to assist passengers with disabilities, ASK ME! Don't you just turn around and leave me on the ground!" (Facebook/-)
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tihad Airlines has conveyed its regret for refusing to allow Dwi Ariyani, 36, an Indonesian woman with physical disabilities, to board a flight to Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday due to her not traveling with an aide.
The United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier admitted that in Ariyani’s case the company had failed to follow the procedure of serving a passenger in a wheelchair. Etihad management said it would seriously follow up the case, and that passenger safety and comfort were priority for the company.
"We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience that we caused to Mrs. Ariyani, when she was asked to leave our plane that was bound for Geneva from Jakarta this week," said Etihad in its official email, as quoted by Kompas.com on Thursday.
Etihad management added that the company had launched a thorough internal investigation and taken the proper measures in response to the procedural violation, and to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
"We have contacted Mrs. Ariyani to apologize and offer an alternative trip," Etihad said in the statement, emphasizing that the airline regularly accommodated disabled passengers on international flights without problems.
As previously reported, after 20 minutes on board, the cabin crew manager approached Ariyani, who was heading to Switzerland to attend a UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities, and asked whether she could evacuate the plane without an aide.
"I said that I need assistance for evacuation," she wrote in her change.org petition, in which she claimed that Etihad had unfairly discriminated against her.
Minutes later, she continued, an airport operation officer, Abrar, approached her and asked whether she could walk. Ariyani replied that she could walk by holding on to a handle bar.
"And then he said that, according to the cabin crew, I had to leave the plane because I didn’t have any assistants with me," she said, adding that the staff had said that they were acting in accordance with the airline’s rules.
However, having checked Etihad’s flight regulations, Ariyani did not find any rules saying that disabled persons were not allowed on flights without an aide. The story went viral after Ariyani’s husband Yonnasfi posted an account of the incident on his Facebook account. (ags)
