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Airline introduces stair lifts

23rd June 2014

Leading budget airline IndiGo has announced its introduction of stair lifts for their mobility restricted passengers where ramps are not available. As the largest airline in India it is thought that the announcement will have more businesses in the country and airlines across the world thinking about accessibility. It has been described as ‘a welcome step as it will help many elders’.

With flights becoming more common amongst the general public with the reduction of prices for package holidays and such services, it stands to reason that airlines should be ensuring that their offering is as accessible as possible. This is something IndiGo have obviously taken very seriously in the rolling out of straight stair lifts for their customers where ramps are unavailable.

Flights for all

Recognising that board ramps are not available at all airports served by the airline, IndiGo has introduced stair lifts for their customers who have particular mobility needs that were not being met with the previous strategies in place. As such, IndiGo will be the first airline in India with dedicated stair lifts for their passengers.

IndiGo is already the only airline in the world regularly operating a boarding ramp that permits wheelchair and stretcher access that can be effortlessly taken directly onto the aircraft, and with this latest introduction of stair lifts they are set to be the most accessible airline in operation.

A spokesperson for the airline said in this article, “IndiGo is proud to be the first airline in India with dedicated stairlifts for passengers” with a AccessIndia spokesperson reiterating their efforts stating that “This is no doubt a welcome step as it will help many elders and those passengers with disabilities who can transfer easily on their own”.

With such a positive step forward for better accessibility on flights, it would be great if we could soon see the rolling out of motorised rise and recliner chairs on board long flights to better cater for elderly mobility restraints and provide better comfort for such passengers.

Image Credit: Kurush Pawar (flickr.com)

This news article is from Handicare UK. Articles that appear on this website are for information purposes only and are up to date as of the time of publishing