site.btaDiscrimination Watchdog Opens Case over Child with Disability Removed from Flight

The Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD) launched a self-initiated investigation into the removal of a child with a disability from a flight, following a report by CPD Chair Elka Bozhova, CPD said here Monday. 

A case has been opened under Article 50(3) of the Protection against Discrimination Act to determine whether direct discrimination, including harassment, occurred and whether there was an unlawful refusal of service, with sanctions to be considered if warranted.

“I believe the actions of the carrier and, specifically, the pilot who refused to allow a child with a disability to board the aircraft, without regard for the specifics of the wheelchair used, are in direct violation of Article 37 of the Protection against Discrimination Act concerning the provision of transport services on the basis of disability,” Bozhova said in a press release.

Bozhova recalled that under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, removing passengers from an aircraft is an extreme measure, permissible only after all reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. She also noted that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees access to services, and that Bulgaria and the EU have ratified it with all ensuing legal implications.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov filed a complaint to the Commission for Protection against Discrimination regarding the incident involving Ryanair, the Transport Ministry said earlier on Monday, after making a statement on Sunday. The General Directorate Civil Aviation Administration has also opened an inquiry.