Bombay High Court forms panel for ways to make airports senior citizen friendly

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There cannot be any laxity, negligence and sufferance on basic requirements of senior citizens and specially-abled persons at the airports, the Bombay High Court said on Tuesday while appointing a special panel to examine the issue.

A division bench of Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Advait Sethna set up a three-member special committee to examine from every angle the issues faced by senior citizens and specially-abled people at airports, and submit a report to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The panel would be headed by former Andhra Pradesh High Court judge Goda Raghuram, consumer activist Shirish Deshpande and a representative from the DGCA.

The bench said it was really concerned over the issues and problems faced by senior citizens and specially-abled people and even those who need wheelchair facilities at the airports, and added that one of the most fundamental human requirements was that appropriate facilities for ‘persons in need' were provided by the airlines/airport operators.

The court said there was nothing adversarial in the order and that a thorough deliberation was required on the issue of facilities, including wheelchairs at the airports for senior citizens and specially-abled persons.

The DGCA has fairly supported the cause and expressed its willingness to deliberate on such issues, which day in and day out vitally affect thousands of air travellers, so as to have an appropriate mechanism and for a lead model to be introduced and followed, which can even achieve an international recognition, the court said.

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