Decision No. 37-A-1998

February 3, 1998

File No. U 3570/96-14

BACKGROUND

Following a complaint filed by Mr. W. Kirby Rowe against Royal Aviation Inc. carrying on business as Royal and/or Conifair (hereinafter Royal) concerning accessibility problems he experienced while travelling with this carrier between Ottawa, Ontario, and Orlando, Florida, in February 1996, the Canadian Transportation Agency (hereinafter the Agency), in Decision No. 542-A-1996 dated October 28, 1996, required Royal to take certain corrective measures. The complaint raised three fundamental issues: Royal's policy on pre-assignment of seats for persons with disabilities; Royal's practices regarding scheduled and unscheduled stopovers; and the late delivery of the passenger's personal belongings at destination. Although the Agency recognized the inconvenience experienced by Mr. Rowe, the Agency found that the seat assigned to Mr. Rowe and Royal's practices regarding stopovers did not constitute undue obstacles to Mr. Rowe's disability. However, in an attempt to prevent the recurrence of similar situations, the Agency, among other things, emphasized the importance of sensitivity and awareness training of transportation personnel who interact with the public, including contracted ground handling agents. On the issue of the late delivery of Mr. Rowe's wheelchair upon arrival in Ottawa, the Agency was unable to make a determination as to whether the obstacle caused by the delay was undue since Royal did not comment on the reason for the delay. Based on its findings, the Agency requested that Royal provide the following information to the Agency within 30 days from the date of the Decision:

1. a copy of Royal's training program, including information set out in the Schedule (Section 11) of the Agency's Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations (hereinafter the Training Regulations);
2. the number of employees who are subject to the Training Regulations and whether they have all been trained. If all employees had not been trained, how many had received training and when the remaining would complete their training; and
3. the result of Royal's investigation regarding the delay in the delivery of Mr. Rowe's wheelchair on arrival in Ottawa on February 27, 1996.

ISSUE

The issue to be addressed is whether or not the information submitted by Royal satisfies the requirements of Decision No. 542-A-1996.

FACTS

Royal provided an outline of its Ground Handling Operations Manual to the Agency and advises that the material, containing procedures on assistance to persons with disabilities, had been distributed to all ground handlers and tour operators. The carrier also submitted an addendum to its Ground Handling Operations Manual, which includes procedures on assistance to persons with disabilities, as well as The Way to Go: Transportation Services and Persons with Disabilities training manual prepared by Servisair, a sub-contractor who developed a sensitivity and awareness training based on Transport Canada's generic program, under the supervision of Royal's Quality Control Manager.

Royal advises that all of its head office sales and customer services personnel who interact with the public received awareness and sensitivity training. At airports, contracted ground handling personnel provide airport customer services. In Canada, certain contracted ground handling agents are trained by American Airlines, Inc., Canadian Airlines International Ltd. carrying on business under the firm name and style of either Canadian Airlines International or Canadi*n (hereinafter Canadi*n), Air Canada and Bradley Air Services Limited also carrying on business as First Air and/or Ptarmigan Airways (hereinafter First Air), using these carriers' own training program; others are trained by Servisair. The training of the ground handling agents at Florida destinations, including Orlando, where Mr. Rowe encountered difficulties with the level of assistance provided, was completed in November 1997. All airports have been provided with a copy of the procedures on assistance to persons with disabilities and have received a copy of its Ground Handling Operations Manual addendum concerning passengers with disabilities.

According to Royal, the training of its flight attendants meets the criteria of the Emergency & Standards Level Manual prepared by the St. John Ambulance. The carrier indicates that although these employees have not yet received the sensitivity and awareness training required by the Training Regulations, this training will be provided in the Spring of 1998.

With respect to the delivery of Mr. Rowe's wheelchair on arrival in Ottawa, Royal states that there was no irregularity report on the matter and that, if there was a delay, it was related to the manpower available at the flight arrival and not to any breakdown in procedures. The carrier advises that the procedure in place is to deplane passengers using a wheelchair after the other passengers.

ANALYSIS

The Agency has considered all of the evidence submitted by Royal in response to Decision No. 542-A-1996 and is of the view that the content of the Servisair sensitivity and awareness training manual and Royal's Ground Handling Operation Manual dealing with assistance to passengers with disabilities, together, meet the requirements of the Training Regulations. The Agency also reviewed the information provided by Royal under the Schedule (Section 11) of the Training Regulations and finds that the carrier has satisfied this requirement of Decision No. 542-A-1996.

On the issue of personnel subject to the Training Regulations, the Agency notes that Royal completed the training of its head office sales and customer services personnel who interact with the public and that contracted ground handling personnel at Canadian and U.S. airports received training through Servisair or their respective employer. With respect to the latter, the Agency is aware that contracted ground handling agents such as Air Canada, Canadi*n and First Air implemented the training of their employees for assistance of passengers with disabilities. The Agency has reviewed these training programs separately and finds that they are in compliance with the Training Regulations.

Although Royal meets the requirements of the Training Regulations with regard to ground personnel, the Agency finds that the carrier contravened the said regulations because its flight attendants have not yet received the sensitivity and awareness training required under the said regulations. The Agency is of the opinion that flight attendants are employees who interact with the public and are therefore subject to the Training Regulations.

The Agency is concerned that the sensitivity and awareness training of flight attendants is still outstanding, almost three years after the effective date of the Training Regulations. These regulations were approved by the Governor in Council and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette edition of January 26, 1994 and became effective on January 26, 1995. This delayed effective date was specifically fixed to allow air carriers a one-year period to complete the training of all applicable personnel who interact with the public, including flight attendants, so that air carriers could be in compliance with the Training Regulations when they came into effect. Thus, the Agency is of the opinion that Royal had ample time to implement and complete the sensitivity and awareness training of all of its employees who interact with the public, including flight attendants.

The Agency finds that the information provided does not indicate that the 20-minute delay experienced by Mr. Rowe in the delivery of his wheelchair on arrival in Ottawa constituted an undue obstacle to his mobility. However, even though Royal's ground handling services at the Ottawa airport are provided under contract by First Air's personnel, Royal has full responsibility for the level of services provided to its passengers with disabilities. In this regard, the Agency reminds Royal of the importance of returning passengers' mobility aids as promptly as possible upon arrival at destination.

CONCLUSION

Based on the above findings, the Agency requires Royal to take the following measures:

1. Royal is to complete the sensitivity and awareness training of its flight attendants, as per the requirements of the Training Regulations, no later than ninety (90) days from the date of this Decision.
2. Royal is to provide the Agency, within thirty (30) days from the date of this Decision, an interim report on the status of the sensitivity and awareness training of its flight attendants, as well as a final report at the end of the 90-day period set out in 1) above. The final report is to provide verification that all flight attendants who are subject to the Training Regulations have received the training.
3. Royal is to emphasize to its airport ground handling agents the importance of the quick delivery of mobility aids on flight arrival by issuing a special bulletin to that effect. Royal is to provide the Agency, within thirty (30) days from the date of this Decision, a copy of the said bulletin with a list of distribution.

Following a review of the requested information, the Agency will determine whether further action is required.