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OR THOSE POWER WHEELCHAIR USERS that have dreamt of travelling by air seated in their own power wheelchair, 2021 will see that dream take a step (or a wheel) closer to reality.


“But why has this taken so long” I hear you


say. The answer to this is quite simple, no one took the time to come up with the solution. When I say solution, I do mean a concept that also


challenges and embraces the safety considerations by way of certification. The only way to achieve all of this is to work with those that design and certify the airlines ‘Layout Of Passenger


Accommodation’ (LOPA), this is a skilled complex piece of engineering and modelling. Today, if my son or daughter were to park their power wheelchair in a space in the aircraft cabin and fly off to some far distant land there is every chance that they would suffer a personal injury, worse still it would compromise the safety of all those other passengers on board. No one wants this terrible scenario. In the early part of 2021, alongside other stakeholders, I will be unveiling this concept. The detail will offer no loss of seats to the airline and will be safe. However, the concept must pass the scrutiny of safety agencies and regulators in aviation. It also has to be one that those people in airlines who write the cheques feel is a good investment. The aviation industry is one that lives and breathes revenue. The cost of flights has been steadily dropping over the decades, the main reason being they seat us together tighter than a Colombian suitcase in that cabin space and of course those that fly regularly will know all about those extra charges to baggage,


38 extra legroom etc...


Since 2015 I have maxed many a personal credit card travelling the world trying to make this happen. I started lobbying, campaigning, and speaking about how the aviation industry needs to make flying dignified and safe to everyone. In simple parlance if you are not including then by default you are excluding. Governments, civil and human rights organisations have been leaning hard on the


industry to put their house in order. I recently gave evidence in Washington to the “Committee for a study of the Technical Feasibility of Wheelchair Restraint Systems in Passenger Aircraft” (the USA loves a big title!). I knew most of the people in the room and many have told me privately that the innovation will come from the UK rather than the USA. America has a history of litigation and airlines are not immune to this - I get a sense this is almost the happy medium and ‘The Culture’. Technically, creating that designated space on a commercial aircraft for a power wheelchair is not difficult. Getting the airlines to buy into any concept is the hardest challenge of all. Therefore, my campaign has many strings to its bow and one of those is legislation. Over the years I have met with many of our government’s ministers, primarily our aviation ministers (I hate government reshuffles!). Persistence paid off and my campaign made its way into the


Ability Needs Magazine


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