VIEW, Issue two, 2012


Page 5


I don’t need to use a appropriate for me’


Statement from Royal National Institute for the Blind


Thomas Quigley, RNIB NI communica- tions/PR officer, said: “Airport staff should ask their disabled customers what kind of assistance they need. “The type of assistance offered should be based on that person’s needs and nobody should be forced to sit in a wheelchair if they don't want to. “It’s crucial all blind and partially sighted people have access to a sighted guide if that is what they've requested.”


Heathrow statement


A HEATHROW spokesperson said: “Each passenger has individual needs. Although our policy states that visually impaired pas- sengers should not be presumed to require the assistance of a wheelchair, they of course have the option to use one if they wish.


“Likewise a visually impaired passenger should never feel forced to use a wheelchair against their wishes. The only exception to this would be if the passenger had a mobil- ity problem when a wheelchair would be au- tomatically provided. “All our staff are trained on these policies and this also features within our disability awareness training.


Appeal: Andrea Begley has urged more firms to avail of visual awareness courses


“It is unacceptable for a visually impaired passenger to be forced to use a wheelchair against their wishes and any complaints would be treated as a disciplinary offence. “We work with external organisations and charities to continually improve our service. “We are due to commence our new and enhanced course on the service provided to our visually impaired and hearing impaired passengers and this is being rolled out in the coming weeks.”


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