Disabled fliers’ woes in focus

RIYADH: Abdul Aziz Al-Muhaisen, director of Saudia’s Special Needs Unit, lays the blame on airports for the problems disabled fliers have traveling in the Kingdom.

“Saudia’s Special Needs Unit is doing its best to serve people, but airport infrastructure stands in the way,” he said in an interview recently with Arab News.

Unlike other airports, where persons with special needs can find wheelchairs or chauffeured golf carts to get to their terminals, no such services are provided at Saudi Arabia’s airports, says Mohammad, an academic who did not want his family name published.

Mohammad says that when he traveled to give a lecture in a European country, he was baffled by the difficulties finding services to assist him in boarding his flight in Riyadh.

He said his wife had to search the airport for a considerable amount of time before finding a man with a wheelchair. “A counter for special needs does exist, but it is not visible to passengers due to airport design,” says Al-Muhaisen.

Al-Muhaisen added that the counter would be moved to a more obvious place in the future and that Saudia is spending SR120,000 for its special needs services at King Khaled International Airport. He also pointed out that Saudia has been recognized internationally for the services it provides, such as special meals and menus in Braille. The problem, he said, was that the airport design itself did not consider this issue.

“Our unit was established four years ago,” said Al-Muhaisen. “We have received two complaints from people with special needs.”

He added that if people are more vocal about the issue, it would give his unit the power to demand changes to the standard of the services, which includes providing well-trained workers and escorts to aid the passengers from the minute they sets foot in the airport until they settle into their seats.

“Our society is still not accustomed to this issue, therefore we cannot be compared to international airports and services,” says Al-Muhaisen. “The whole society is suffering a disability in dealing with disability.”