It
is time that a new civil aviation policy is formulated with special emphasis on
passengers with disabilities who continue to face barriers, Justice S. Vimala
of the Madras High Court said here on Friday.
Addressing
a seminar at Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University on ‘Law, Policy and
Regulation on Civil Aviation in India: Contemporary issues and Challenges,’ she
said, “While some positive steps such as the introduction of Civil Aviation
Requirements on Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and/or Persons with
Reduced Mobility were taken, the experience on the ground remains at an
unacceptably low level.”
The
disability policy must cover all persons with disabilities and not only those
who have mobility impairment. The policy must also recognise that persons with
different types of disabilities often require different types of assistance,
she said.
Stressing
on greater transparency on the use of non-aero land at airports, she said it
was counter-productive to develop residential and commercial communities on
land adjacent to airports and then see activism from residents seeking to
curtail airport operations because of noise pollution. There must be careful
master planning to ensure that different land uses could co-exist. Furthermore,
a long-term perspective must be taken with respect to land requirements for
airport infrastructure.
Ms.
Justice Vimala questioned the use of international language and food on sectors
such as Chennai-Madurai and said services must be need-based, not
sophisticated.
K.
Shivakumar, Joint General Manager, Aviation Safety, of the Chennai Airport,
said that the authorities were striving hard to meet safety standards due to
increase in traffic. He sought the help of the officials concerned for
streamlining the activities of flying clubs and restricting construction of
high-rise buildings near airports.
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