Wheelchair-Bound Passengers Sue Juneyao Airlines After Being Declined Boarding

South China Morning Post |

Two Chinese disabled passengers have sued a mainland airline that stopped them boarding a flight because they were not accompanied by an able-bodied person and were "unable to take care of themselves", mainland media reports.
The lawyer for the two wheelchair-bound passengers, who are paralysed from the waist down, told a lawsuit at a Shanghai court on Wednesday that the case against Juneyao Airlines was a fight not only for their right to travel, but also the right to travel of more than 85 million other disabled mainlanders, news website Thepaper.cn reported on Thursday.

A verdict in the case will be given at a later date.
The court was told that the two passengers were told they could not board the airline's flight from Sanya, on Hainan Island, to Dalian, in Liaoning province last November, the report said.
Despite the two passengers' protests, staff working for the airline then cancelled their tickets and refunded their money.
To reach their final destination they had to take a later flight with another airline to Beijing, and then catch a high-speed train to Dalian.

The lawyer representing Juneyao told the hearing that the company had been willing to compensate the passengers with "generosity", but had declined to agree to the passengers' request for a formal apology.
The report did not say whether the passengers were men or women, or give their ages, or say how much compensation they had demanded.

According to China's aviation regulations, airlines should provide their best assistance to disabled people to ensure they have the same rights to travel as able-bodied people.

A lawsuit at a Shanghai court on Wednesday was told Chinese budget airline Juneyao Airlines had stopped two wheelchair users from taking a flight last November because "they were unable to take car of themselve"’.
Two Chinese disabled passengers have sued a mainland airline that stopped them boarding a flight because they were not accompanied by an able-bodied person and were "unable to take care of themselves", mainland media reports.


The lawyer for the two wheelchair-bound passengers, who are paralysed from the waist down, told a lawsuit at a Shanghai court on Wednesday that the case against Juneyao Airlines was a fight not only for their right to travel, but also the right to travel of more than 85 million other disabled mainlanders, news website Thepaper.cn reported on Thursday.


A verdict in the case will be given at a later date.




The court was told that the two passengers were told they could not board the airline's flight from Sanya, on Hainan Island, to Dalian, in Liaoning province last November, the report said.




Despite the two passengers' protests, staff working for the airline then cancelled their tickets and refunded their money.




To reach their final destination they had to take a later flight with another airline to Beijing, and then catch a high-speed train to Dalian.




The lawyer representing Juneyao told the hearing that the company had been willing to compensate the passengers with "generosity", but had declined to agree to the passengers' request for a formal apology.




The report did not say whether the passengers were men or women, or give their ages, or say how much compensation they had demanded.






According to China's aviation regulations, airlines should provide their best assistance to disabled people to ensure they have the same rights to travel as able-bodied people.