Cruelty with impunity: How Kenya's "Fly540" airline mistreated a disabled Bishop Kosgei, forcing him to crawl after disembarking from the plane
Created: Wednesday, May 14, 2014
How Nairobi News reported: A disabled bishop has reported to police claims that he was forced to crawl from the plane of a local airline.
Bishop Jackson Kosgei of Worldwide Gospel Church of Kenya has said he had to crawl from the plane at JKIA after staff said they could not help him get down.
After a 40-minute standoff, Bishop Kosgei says he was ordered to alight on his own by Fly540 attendants when it landed at JKIA from Eldoret in spite of his disability.
He complained about his treatment to JKIA police and OB No 18/11/5/2014 states that the airline staff refused to allow anybody to support him as he disembarked.
About Bishop Kosgei - He is a member of the Kenya Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, a statutory Government of Kenya agency.
How Fly540 responded
“We commend and support Bishop Jackson Kosgei and his tireless work to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by less-abled people. Fly540 Kenya is proud of its track record and the contribution it makes to help wherever possible.
We are investigating this allegation and taking the matter seriously. We also take the matter of health and safety of all our passengers very seriously and, like all airlines, insure all our passengers against injury.
What we can and cannot do are dictated by terms and conditions of insuring our passengers. Due to the type of our planes, we cannot provide cover for immobile or lift-on/off passengers.
The aircrafts in use are not fitted with the special equipment needed for these situations and, as a result, our insurance does not provide cover against any issues that might arise through our employees physically carrying a passenger.
We are however able to assist wheelchair passengers who can be escorted up to the aircraft door, as long as they are able to climb the stairs – and provided we are informed at the time of booking.
We make this clear to everyone and it is in at least three different places on our website (
Assistance - Fly540 - East Africa's low cost airline;
Onboard - Fly540 - East Africa's low cost airline;
Terms and Conditions - Fly540 - East Africa's low cost airline).
Bishop Kosgei is a frequent traveler with us and has not had any issues previously. Our preliminary investigations indicate that in this instance he declined assistance whilst disembarking. Once we have concluded our investigation we will make it available to the relevant authorities. Additionally, we are happy to meet the Bishop and discuss how we can make matters easier for him in the future.”
What IATA article says:
Passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) and other disabilities must have equal or equivalent access to the services available to the general public. It is equally clear that airlines will need to absorb the costs within their business models.
What isn’t straightforward is the effect of increasing regulation. There are no global standards . Regulations in the European Union (EU) are different from those in North America. Other countries have no specific regulations at all. This can be confusing for the PRM as well as for airlines and airport operators.
It doesn’t stop there. Over and above specific regulations dictating what service airlines and airports should provide to passengers with disabilities, individual countries may have anti-discrimination laws that could potentially be invoked by those dissatisfied with the service or treatment that they have received.
In short, PRM regulation is a legal minefield. An increasing number of court cases are being launched by both individuals and disability action groups to test existing rules.
Airline websites and PRMs
It is not just about the physical process. Online services too are having to adapt. Many airlines have sections on their websites relating to passengers with special needs. Lefebvre believes that it is good practice to inform passengers about their rights and give them as much information as possible to help them to prepare for travel.
“At Air France we have tried to provide comprehensive information and to explain the level of service that passengers with special needs should expect,” Lefebvre says.
“What we present on our website is our interpretation of both European and US laws and how these apply to the passenger. Even if there is no mandatory requirement to do so, we try to follow and explain all recommendations to the passenger,” he continues.
An airline’s website should also allow passengers with pecial needs to notify airlines of their specific disability. Making sure that the website itself is accessible to all is an important first step to allowing this to take place efficiently. A visually impaired person usually has devices that describe the website by audio description, for example. A majority of airline websites are now accessible to visually impaired people, using a special keyboard that can translate Braille into a common language.
Access to self-service kiosks
Online booking leads on to the question of self-service. The rapid growth in the number of self-service check-in kiosks at airports is pushing the US DOT to ensure those kiosks are fully accessible to passengers with special needs.
“This is interesting from a legal perspective in the United States because, in some cases, these kiosks have been installed and are used by specific airlines, while in other cases the airport operator has installed common-use kiosks,” says Gary Doernhoefer, General Counsel for IATA. “From a legal aspect, airlines fall under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) but as a government or city entity, airport operators might fall under a different statute.”
A pair of US lawsuits filed last year by an association of visually impaired people highlights the differences. One suit was filed against Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, specifically in relation to the fact that the kiosks installed in the terminal were not accessible to the visually impaired. These were common-use kiosks installed by the airport operator and the case is still pending.
In another case, a Federal Court in California dismissed charges against United Airlines even though the kiosks involved had been installed by the airline. The court in that case determined that airlines’ obligations are defined only by the ACAA, and that state laws prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities do not apply. Currently, the ACAA does not expressly require access to self-service kiosks (although it prohibits discrimination based on disability). Shortly after the United case decision, another Federal Court reached the same conclusion, dismissing similar claims brought against JetBlue.
“These decisions may have contributed to the DOT’s renewed effort to issue regulations regarding access to kiosks,” says Doernhoefer. “The DOT is in the midst of a rulemaking—part of which suggests that every kiosk should be accessible to all passengers, including those with a whole range of disabilities.” Passengers in wheelchairs, for example, would need kiosks that are at a lower height, while visually-impaired passengers would require the kiosk to have a different technology, or Braille keyboard to allow them to use it.
“It is not clear that the technology for this is fully tried and tested yet,” says Doernhoefer. “More work is required to ensure that it is reliable and useable and the number of units needed have to be commercially produced. Manufacturers may even slow investment until the regulations are clear.”
Meeting standards
In a joint memorandum, IATA, Airlines for America, ACI-North America, the Regional Airline Association, and the Air Carrier Association of America have submitted comments highlighting the impracticality of some of the proposed new rules. The wording is viewed as being very restrictive (providing for only one method of compliance for kiosks and websites) and imposing very short deadlines, which will unnecessarily drive up costs.
Doernhoefer worries that DOT’s proposal has far too many specifics. “I think it is very important that regulation should not specify a technology-based solution,” he says. “The DOT should regulate at a policy level and let the industry work out how best to meet the required standards.”
Doug Lavin, IATA Regional Vice President for North America, agrees. “Our members recognize the importance of making air travel accessible to all passengers, regardless of disability. Unfortunately, the technology is not yet there to meet the letter of the proposed DOT regulation on kiosks and websites. We hope that DOT gives the airlines the time needed to achieve our shared goals in this area.”
The IATA Common Use Working Group—which includes carriers, airports, and vendors—has met several times to discuss how to incorporate accessibility features into self-service kiosks. It has analyzed the DOT’s proposed new rules and provided extensive information on the research, redesign, and reprogramming that will need to go into a revamped kiosk. Assuming the DOT goes ahead with its proposal in some form, the IATA Group will be instrumental in providing input on industry standards.
Cruelty with impunity: How Kenya's "Fly540" airline mistreated a disabled Bishop Kosgei, forcing him to crawl after disembarking from the plane
© 2017 Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)