Jakarta, Kartunet.com – Following the legal summons issued by people with disabilities to PT Garuda Indonesia, Gapura Angkasa, Angkasa Pura, and the Ministry of Transportation, a call has now been made to all people with disabilities to take action against discrimination by all domestic airlines (March 13, 2013). This call is an invitation to tear up the 'sick' declaration forms that people with disabilities are forced to sign when traveling with domestic airlines.
According to Cucu Saidah, a victim of discriminatory treatment by PT Garuda Indonesia and a disability activist, this action is a follow-up to previous online petition efforts and legal summonses.
“Still related to discriminatory flight services: let's activate the 'TEAR UP THE SICK DECLARATION FORM' ACTION for anyone traveling with any airline. If airport staff insist on you signing it, you may accept it and be sure to ask for a copy. Once you are seated properly on the plane, tear up the SICK DECLARATION FORM, take a photo, and then share it on any social media,” wrote Cucu Saidah in an email she circulated.
The practice of airlines forcing people with disabilities to sign 'sick' declaration forms has indeed occurred frequently. However, these incidents are generally not due to official airline policy, but rather tend to be caused by a lack of information among ground staff regarding the difference between sick individuals and people with disabilities. So far, people with disabilities who are seen using wheelchairs or white canes are often equated with sick individuals, thus having to sign 'sick' declaration forms whose contents are highly discriminatory.
Based on the experiences of people with disabilities who frequently travel independently by plane, incidents like those described above do not apply uniformly to all domestic airlines. In fact, according to one person with a disability, treatment can sometimes differ for the same airline on different routes and at different times.
For example, on airline X, when a person with a disability traveling from city A to city B receives discriminatory treatment, it is not certain that the same airline will provide similar treatment when traveling from city C to city D. Even for the same airline and route, such discriminatory treatment may not occur at different travel times.
This action developed after an online petition was previously created to ask Garuda Indonesia to stop discriminatory treatment at http://www.change.org/id/petisi/maskapai-garuda-indonesia-hentikan-peraturan-diskriminatif. As of the time this news was published, the number of petition signatories had exceeded 320 people and continues to grow. (DPM)
Editor: Muhammad Yesa Aravena