Summary
- A passenger who uses a wheelchair was denied boarding.
- The incident prompted public backlash over discrimination against disabled individuals.
- China Southern Airlines apologized and promised an investigation, highlighting internal inconsistencies.
On February 6, a lady with a disability posted a video on the Chinese video platform Douyin (a Chinese version of TikTok), stating that she was denied boarding on a flight operated by China Southern Airlines.
In keeping with the South China Morning Post, the explanation given by China Southern Airlines for denying the traveler with no legs was that disabled passengers without walking ability have to be accompanied by non-disabled individuals. Because the incident occurred throughout the Chinese Recent Yr holiday and involved discrimination against a vulnerable group, it quickly attracted public attention.
Passenger questions the “absurdity of the regulation”
Within the video she posted, the feminine blogger explained that she had called China Southern Airlines two weeks before her flight to request cabin wheelchair service. Through the call, China Southern’s customer support representative stated that in accordance with regulations, she will need to have an accompanying person, or else the service couldn’t be applied for.
After communication between each parties, China Southern Airlines asked her to attend for further notification. Shortly afterward, she received a text message explicitly informing her that her request for cabin wheelchair service was successful.
Photo: Uskarp | Shutterstock
Nonetheless, she was refused boarding when she arrived on the China Southern Airlines special passenger counter at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport on February 5. Despite negotiations between each parties, she ultimately was not in a position to board the flight.
Attributable to not receiving an inexpensive explanation, the feminine blogger later filed a grievance with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). She stated,
“This absurd regulation itself shouldn’t exist. The true accessible travel service is supposed to enable us to travel independently.”
China Southern Airlines apologized after the incident escalated
The feminine blogger stated that after being denied boarding by China Southern Airlines on February 5, she canceled her ticket and returned home. She then purchased tickets from one other airline and successfully traveled alone after applying for cabin wheelchair service on February 6.
Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock
The swift escalation of the event made it not possible for China Southern Airlines to proceed responding with a bureaucratic attitude. On the afternoon of the seventh, within the comments section of the video posted by the feminine blogger, China Southern Airlines’ official Douyin account replied,
“Dear valued passenger, regarding the situation you reported, we highly value it and are currently investigating and verifying. We deeply apologize for the unsatisfactory experience you had during your recent trip. Thanks for supervising and supporting our work. We are attempting to contact you thru the 95539 customer support hotline. Please concentrate to incoming calls. Thanks.”
Nonetheless, on the self-service page of China Southern Airlines’ app for applying for services for passengers with mobility impairments, passengers only must fill in information similar to ID number, flight number, name, etc., with none relevant content requiring details about accompanying individuals. That is inconsistent with the policy described by China Southern Airlines’ customer support.
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