'Passed like a baton': Advocates, Air Canada CEO clash on accessible travel

Advocates and Air Canada's CEO served up opposing views of on-board accessibility for passengers on Tuesday, though both sides agree that consistency remains a problem. Michael Rousseau, who heads Canada's largest airline, told a House of Commons transport committee an overwhelming majority of the 1.3m passengers who requested special assistance last year had a positive experience. About 1,950 - or 0.15% - filed complaints. “This is not to minimize the number of incidents nor the serious impacts the disruptions have on the individuals involved. But it is important context that indicates, first, we do a good job and, second, more importantly, we need and we will continue to get better,” Rousseau said.<br/>“We have concluded the chief issue was inconsistency,” he added, citing training as the remedy. Complaint statistics fail to reflect the travel experience of many people living with disabilities, who sometimes wait unassisted for hours or have to instruct employees on how to guide them, said disability rights advocate David Lepofsky. “I personally have spent four hours parked at a gate waiting for a flight,” said Heather Walkus, who heads the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. “No one's come to see me. There's no way to contact anyone. I'm having to go to the washroom. I can't get something to eat,” she said. “We're moved like luggage from one end to the other.” Rousseau acknowledged that the issues are “probably underreported.” Lepofsky pushed back. “To be able to say you're doing a good job and these are the numbers is to be shockingly out of touch with our experience,” he told the transport committee. “We heard from Air Canada today that ... the problems are few or infrequent and that really all they need is more education or training for their staff. Every single one of those statements is wrong,” claimed Lepofsky, who heads the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.<br/>