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VIEW, Issue two, 2012


Page 4


‘I told Heathrow staff wheelchair, it is not


Objections: Andrea Belgley: I made it clear to the staff at the desk at Heathrow that I don’t need a wheelchair M


problems with are Heathrow, where I had one of my worst experiences, and Manchester. “Heathrow told me from the outset that it


“The main airports that I would have the most


y main problem, when I travel through air- ports, is getting to the ticket desk, through security and then onto my flight.


couldn’t provide me with someone to guide me through the airport. It could only provide me with a wheelchair, which isn't appropriate for someone with a visual impairment. “As a visually impaired person there is no diffi-


culty for us to walk somewhere. We just need to be directed or for someone to give us some assis- tance. “I voiced my objections to the person who was assisting me. I tried to reason with them and argue that I didn’t need a wheelchair. She didn’t take my views on board at all. In the end, because I was rushing to a meeting, I had to leave it at that. But on my way back through Heathrow, I made it clear to the staff at the desk that I didn’t need a wheel- chair, it was not appropriate for me. “The other difficulty I have is that there are peo-


ple travelling through airports who may need a wheelchair because they have limited mobility. Pos- sibly, because the airport insists that I use a wheechair, it might mean that a person who actu- ally needs one can’t get it because I’m in it. I just need someone to guide me through the airport. “I was travelling to a meeting in early January of


this year when it happened. I know from speaking to friends of mine, who also have a visual impair- ment, that they have also experienced the same is- sues. They also voiced their objections to the staff. “A lot of people who provide the service seem


Andrea Begley, a visu- ally impaired young woman, who works as a civil servant at Stormont, tells Brian Pelan that it’s time for Heathrow to re-examine its policy on airport assistance


Her experience at Heathrow is in stark contrast to that experienced by Andrea at Belfast City Air- port.


“The staff there are very helpful and they don’t put me in a wheelchair. They seem to be more up to date on what is appropriate for visually impaired people and may have received training from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). I think staff at airports who are unsure of the cor- rect policy for visually impaired people would ben- efit from visual awareness training. “The course shows behaviour that is appropriate or not approprate – for example, some people feel they need to shout at a visually impaired person because they think we can’t hear them. Or if you are travelling with someone else, they insist on talking to that person and not to you. Things are not as bad as they once were. “One of the reasons is that the RNIB’s visual


to be following regulations or something they have been told by management about health and safety issues.”


awareness training courses are being taken by more businesses and airlines. “There is still quite a gap, though. I had another


bad experience at Manchester Airport. I had just flown back from Brussels and was waiting on a connecting flight to Belfast. I had a couple of hours to wait. The special assistance woman brought me to a cafe. She left me there and said she would re- turn before my flight. A couple of hours passed and there was still no sign of her coming back. “Then there was an announcement on the air-


port system for passengers to board the Belfast flight. I began to panic. In desperation, I asked a cus- tomer in the cafe if they could assist me to the boarding gate. They kindly did. It was a very stress- ful experience.” Andrea does not use a guide dog. “Unfortunately


I got bitten by a dog when I was quite young. Dogs and I are just not going to happen. I use a cane to get around. I still have a small amount of residual vision. I can make out large shapes, but I don’t have enough vision to make my way around places, like airports.” Andrea's visual impairment problems began when she was three years of age. “I developed a condition called juvenile rheuma-


toid arthritis. I developed glaucoma from that. I gradually lost my sight from about the age of six. “I got my eyes opened slightly – if that’s the


right word – when I went to Brussels recently, which is the heart of Europe, the heart of all these special pieces of legislation about rights and entitle- ments for people with disabilities. “I couldn't believe how difficult it was to get


around as a visually impaired person. “There were so many holes and cracks in the


pavements.


“It just made me appreciate how far we have come in Belfast.


good signage and the general public, who, for the most part, are very helpful.”


“I was so glad to get back to normal pavements,


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