Flying with special needs

Nepal’s airports are not very well designed for access, with crowded concourses, limited turnstiles, shoddy ramp buses and pot-holed parking lots. But for passengers who have special needs, they are a nightmare.

The state of domestic airports is even worse. Most are not wheel-chair friendly, the staircases and ramps are steep and not designed with people with physical disabilities in mind.

However, airlines try to work with the facilities offered by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) which manages the country’s airports. It almost seems as if making airports accessible for those with special needs is the last thing in CAAN’s mind.

This is all the more evident in domestic flights which also serve as a medical evacuation service for passengers travelling for hospital treatment in the cities. Passengers, some of them even in stretchers, have to be carried on regular flights from remote area airports to cities like Biratnagar, Nepalganj and Dhangadi. Some even have to transit those airports for onward flights to Kathmandu.

Often, domestic flights on trunk routes also have patients or expectant mothers flying to or from Kathmandu. Aside from this, there are also many passengers with special needs who may find airports, ramp buses and getting in and out of planes not wheelchair friendly.

Getting on planes requires waiting in numerous lines, check-in, and security procedures. This creates a challenge for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, seniors or minors.

Now, domestic carriers like Buddha Air provide special assistance to passengers needing medical equipment and support while traveling such as wheelchairs, seniors with movement difficulties, pregnant women.

“Special assistance in airlines is necessary so travel is convenient to all passengers regardless of their age, medical condition and or mobility impairments,” says Dipendra Karn of Buddha Air. “Providing special assistance promotes inclusive and accessible air travel to all passengers and  prevents discrimination.”

Buddha Air is the first airline in Nepal to replace steps with ramps so wheelchair passengers can board planes without having to be physically carried on and off the cabin. Passengers have to make a request with necessary documents laying out their mobility restrictions. The carrier also requires a personal attendant to accompany such passengers and an Indemnity Bond from next of kin.

Passengers also have to fill out a Medical Information Form (MEDIF) so that the airline can determine whether the passenger is fit to fly. Special seating arrangements can also be made for passengers requiring stretchers or Portable Oxygen Cylinders (POC). The captain is notified if there is a passenger carrying POC onboard, as well as the nature of the passenger's oxygen needs.

Passenger stretchers are placed in the last three rows of the ATR-72 or -42 aircraft and are required to be escorted by qualified medical personnel as per the doctor’s recommendation.

Pregnant women can get special assistance if they are from 29-36 weeks and must present a medical certificate stating that she is fit to fly. Women less than 28 weeks pregnant do not need to submit any documents. Women are not allowed to fly if they are more than 37 weeks pregnant.

Special needs requirements can be made through the Buddha Air app online.