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IATA launches action group to improve transport of mobility aids for airline passengers
July 9th 2021
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a Mobility Aids Action Group (MAAG) to tackle the issue of ensuring wheelchairs and other assistive devices are transported safely. Read More » The group would involve the "full range of stakeholders", such as organisations representing travellers with disabilities, airlines, ground service providers, airports and mobility aids manufacturers. It will provide advice and recommendations to airlines and other stakeholders on policy, process and standards related to the handling and transport of mobility aids, IATA said. "We acknowledge we are not where we want to be on this as an industry," IATA director general, Willie Walsh, said. "This is why we want to do something about it on a global level, not through setting up a talking shop, but by bringing the key groups together to take practical action." The airline lobby group said a recent survey from Able Move identified that among those who actively continued to fly, about 55% said the biggest single cause of concern when flying was the fear of their wheelchair being damaged or lost.
