Air Canada must present plan to improve travel for people with disabilities: Ottawa

Air Canada has been summoned to Ottawa to present a plan on how it intends to treat passengers with disabilities following three recent high-profile incidents. Canada's Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez took to X, formally known as Twitter, on Friday (Nov. 3) to share his call to action, saying he will meet with Air Canada’s leadership, alongside Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Kamal Khera, next week to discuss recent events that have have made national and international headlines. “They must present a plan to address this. Canadians expect Air Canada to do better,” Minister Rodriguez wrote, saying he was “horrified to learn about another incident on an Air Canada flight.” The call comes one day after Air Canada admitted it violated Canadian disability regulations in the case of 50-year-old passenger named Rodney Hodgins, a B.C. man with cerebral palsy who was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas when he was told no wheelchair was available. In June, Air Canada finalized a three-year plan to increase accessibility for both customers and employees, and said it "fully supports the federal government's Accessible Canada Act and its aim to realize a barrier-free Canada by 2040." The plan came following a report stating that two-thirds of people with disabilities faced barriers on federally-regulated planes and trains in Canada from 2019 and 2020. Air Canada says it has "considerable resources" to make travel accessible, and employs 180 employees in Toronto to assist with mobility. "In light of this, we are deeply disappointed and sincerely regret when there are mobility service lapses that result in inconvenience and travel disruption," reads the airline’s latest statement. <br/>