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February 5, 2016

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Disabled pair sue airline over lost seats

TWO wheelchair-bound men who were denied access to a Juneyao Airlines fight are suing the Shanghai-based budget carrier for discrimination, the Pudong New Area People’s Court said yesterday.

The plaintiffs, surnamed Zhan and Sheng, bought tickets for a flight to Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, from Sanya, on the south China island province of Hainan, five days before it was scheduled to depart on November 19 last year.

When they tried to board the flight, however, they were told they had to be accompanied by an able-bodied person.

In court, the airline said that it makes clear on its website that people with physical disabilities should contact the airline in advance of their flight to arrange for assistance to be provided.

Neither Zhan nor Sheng made such a call.

Their lawyer argued, however, that under Civil Aviation Administration of China rules, all airline passengers should be granted the same rights, regardless of their physical ability.

Juneyao staff should have done all they could to assist the two passengers, but instead they offered only a refund on their tickets, the unidentified attorney said.

No decision was reached yesterday as the judge called a recess to allow time for both sides to gather more evidence.

The hearing will resume at a later date, it said.




 

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