Successful campaign in Norway forced airline to accept wheelchair users

The newly established airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, NAS, which is concentrating on domestic flights in Norway, recently stated in a letter answering the Norwegian Federation of Organisations of Disabled People, FFO, that they refused to transport passengers in electric wheelchairs. Their reason was that they would have problems storing the wheelchairs in the luggage compartments of their aircraft. Thus they openly excluded a group of air passengers. What made the issue even worse was that the Norwegian government has contracted the low-price airline to use them for civil servants when travelling by air, as well as for all transporting of patients financed by the Norwegian public pensions’ administration. The Norwegian minister for Labour and Government Administration made, when asked by the press, the discouraging comment that “wheelchair users and their friends can always use another airline”.

Only after considerable pressure from several members of the Norwegian Parliament as well as the FFO, did the airline managers change their minds. FFO immediately launched a media campaign on the issue upon receiving the letter from Norwegian. In a press release the national disability council comments that “decisions are clearly made in the transport sector that are discriminating against air passengers with disabilities. However, this case also proves that through mobilising the politicians, attitudes and decisions may be changed. It is totally unacceptable that an airline that has a public contract with the Government worth more than 125 million Euro is allowed to discriminate against disabled people. It is also very serious that the minister responsible for this contract, says that persons in electric wheelchairs can always use other airlines and leave it to NAS to find a solution”.

In Norway a consultation committee between the airlines, organisations of disabled people and the Ministry for Transport has for years ensure a dialogue between the parties concerned in order to improve accessibility and services for air passengers with disabilities. In a meeting in this committee on Tuesday 15th October the message obviously went home with the NAS representative, and the same evening they declared their willingness to allow passengers with electric wheelchairs. However it is not stated from when this change will take place. Disabled people in Norway are pleased with the result but the case is very serious and FFO will closely monitor the development in the future.