Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-13-Speech-2-397"
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"en.20051213.62.2-397"2
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".
Madam President, I am very pleased to be able to present my report to Parliament tonight, the first major piece of disability legislation for air travellers. I should like sincerely to thank the shadows, the Parliament and Group staff, my own staff, the Commission, the various disabled organisations and aviation groups with which I have been privileged to work and the UK Presidency, without whose sterling efforts my anticipated historic first reading agreement would not have been possible.
Travelling by air is now almost as common as travelling by car, with up to half the population expecting to fly at least once a year. Without this sort of watertight legislation, some airlines will look for loopholes to avoid providing for disabled people and those who need a little extra help at busy airports where the distance from check-in to the boarding gate can be up to a kilometre. Many airlines have made improvements under a voluntary agreement. However, without proper legislation, there will always be some who, by negligence or indifference, ruin the holidays or trips of vulnerable people.
I hope colleagues will support this proposal, because it is long overdue. It is much anticipated and, above all, it is a good news and positive European story. I repeat my thanks for the incredible endeavour of the UK Presidency, because I know the vast amount of time and effort that has been put into it. I thank the President-in-Office warmly for his presence here tonight at nearly 10.10 p.m. All 25 EU governments and all the major parties in the European Parliament are in support of this package that will be presented. We should be very proud when we vote on this report on Thursday and achieve, as I hope and expect, an agreement at first reading.
Too many people – the elderly or those with disabilities – complain of being neglected or, worse still, maltreated at Europe’s airports. Fundamental rights for disabled passengers when travelling by air ought to be something we take for granted. However, the reality can be very different. One example is Ryanair and the insulting manner in which it treats disabled passengers. It is probably the best-publicised culprit, but there are plenty of others and not just the low-cost carriers.
Madam President, you and I were speaking recently about your issues with Lufthansa; I have had other issues with Iberia, to name but two. Only yesterday, on my flight to Strasbourg, Air France blamed the one disabled passenger for the one-hour delay in boarding people. Of course, against this, as Mr Twigg has said, many people’s experiences are positive, and many airlines and airports offer a good service.
However, it was against a background of complaints and a service which can at best be described as patchy that, earlier this year, as the Commissioner said, his Commission presented proposals for improving the rights of persons of reduced mobility, to which, despite some opposition early on, I am very pleased we have now been able to add disabled people.
During its passage through the European Parliament I have also been pleased to be able to present other improvements. Most importantly, ensuring that the proposal is for a seamless service for passengers, from any point of arrival at any of the airports in the European Union, to destinations – including transfers, which are often the most traumatic experiences for people.
At my suggestion, the committee also amended the Commission text to give airports the overall responsibility for ensuring an efficient and effective service with, as Mr Twigg again mentioned, the ability to contract it out if they so wish.
I am also very pleased to be able to amend the proposal to allow guide dogs or service dogs on long-haul flights, because I am advised that the owners of those dogs are in the best position to judge how long a flight the animal can cope with.
In the report we also requested that planes and airports be better designed in consultation with disabled people’s organisations and that the airport and airline staff be given real disability awareness training. In addition, I think there is a real need for reservation systems, including websites, to be much more user-friendly and effective. The aim is to ensure that people with reduced mobility and disabled passengers enjoy the same rights when travelling by air as you or I, without incurring any additional costs – the costs being spread across every passenger handled by the air carrier and included in the price of the ticket.
Airline statistics suggest that up to ten million passengers in this category are assisted at Europe’s airports every year. Therefore, it is essential that the guidelines are clear and agreed at European level. It would be pointless if one or a few of the 25 EU Member States had good legislation and the others had poor legislation or none at all."@en1
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