Inhumane treatment of people in wheelchairs

THE EDITOR: As a traveller who has been using the wheelchair service at Piarco Airport for the past eight years because of my severely-restricted mobility, I was horrified to hear from two elderly passengers who returned to Trinidad in recent months that the Airports Authority is no longer allowing wheelchair-using passengers to have someone accompany them when they are being wheeled through Immigration and Customs.

One of those passengers related that there were about three or four flights on the ground the evening she arrived with a family member, who was responsible for accompanying her through the arrival procedures.

They were informed that only the person in the wheelchair would be expedited through the system, while the other had to join the lines, thus separating them because of this absurd rule.

The second elderly passenger who came in on another evening before Christmas reported having had a similar experience and being appalled and incensed by this development.

When the first challenged passenger got to the Customs hall she had to rely on the wheelchair attendant to retrieve her baggage from among the many suitcases on the carousel. This after having to describe the baggage multiple times to the attendant, but which would have been easier had her caregiver been in the hall with her.

Without a clue as to where her family member was in the Immigration and Customs process, she was taken through Customs and then wheeled outside to sit in the wheelchair and wait on him.

She was furious since telephones are not allowed to be used in the arrival area. This meant she and her husband could not communicate with each other. He was on the inside not knowing where she was, while she was on the outside not knowing where he was.

The woman felt alone, frightened and abandoned: neglected by a stupid Airports Authority system that cared not about the elderly passengers for whom it was responsible.

Why is it that the TT authorities must always implement systems that disadvantage people?

Do those who implemented this system really understand the distress they are placing on people who use the wheelchair service in order to be comfortable?

Many older people are accompanied by relatives, either because the passengers would prefer not to travel alone or their family members would rather not have them do so. This system defeats these purposes.

What if an elder feels unwell while in the customs area, for example, and the person accompanying that passenger, although at the airport, has no idea what is taking place with that relative? Is this humane?

As we say, “only in TT," since that stupid rule is not known to exist at other airports. It needs to be rescinded now.

CLYDE ALPHONSO

via e-mail