IN THE MATTER OF Order No. 1995-A-159 and Decision No. 208-A-1995, both dated April 20, 1995 - Canada 3000 Airlines Limited.
After review of the application, the NTA had determined that an undue obstacle to the mobility of Mrs. Vecchiarelli's son existed in that a lack of awareness, knowledge and/or understanding by agents/personnel of the carrier regarding the needs of persons with disabilities and their accommodation on board aircraft, as well as an apparent failure of sensitivity/awareness training of ground and in-flight personnel of the carrier, resulted in an inadequate level of assistance provided to Mrs. Vecchiarelli's son and his family.
By Order No. 1995-A-159 dated April 20, 1995, Canada 3000 was required to provide to the NTA, within thirty (30) days from the date of the Order, a copy of the bulletin issued to all in-flight crew advising them of changes to the carrier's procedures to reflect the latest advice from Transport Canada with respect to the acceptance of medical devices during take-off and landing; a copy of its current training program for the NTA to review and assess whether it meets the requirements of the Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations; a report which furnishes details of its training program prepared in the form set out in the Schedule of the Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations; and the specific steps taken to ensure that persons who book and/or sell transportation on its flights are fully aware of the carrier's policies as they relate to the pre-booking of seats for passengers with special needs.
On May 18, 1995, the NTA received the requested documents. Subsequent information was requested and was received under cover of letters dated September 14, 1995, November 17, 1995 and January 23, 1996.
Although this application was filed with the NTA, it will now be dealt with by the Canadian Transportation Agency (hereinafter the Agency) as provided for in section 195 of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C., 1996, c. 10 (hereinafter the CTA). Section 195 of the CTA provides that proceedings relating to any matter before the NTA shall be continued by the Agency and that these proceedings are to be dealt with and determined in accordance with the provisions of the National Transportation Act, 1987, R.S.C., 1985, c. 28 (3rd Supp.), unless otherwise ordered by the Governor in Council. No such order of the Governor in Council affects this matter.
The Agency has reviewed Canada 3000's safety bulletin issued to all of its staff and is satisfied that it correctly conveys Transport Canada's acceptance of medical appliances for take-off and landing and that, with the carrier's personnel awareness of this bulletin, incidents like those experienced by the Vecchiarelli family should be avoided in the future.
The Agency has reviewed all of the material received from Canada 3000 with respect to its current training program and is satisfied that as outlined, it should provide an appropriate level of training as required by the Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations.
The Agency has reviewed Canada 3000's report detailing its training program and notes that all employees have received an initial four hours of training and a copy of the training program, that all new employees will be trained immediately before their job commences, and that refresher training will be provided yearly. The Agency further notes that Canada 3000's Contractual Ground Handling Agreements require that all its contractors comply with all requirements contained in the Canada 3000 Traffic Manual provisions including the section related to Disability Awareness Training.
The Agency has reviewed Canada 3000's Travel Agent Information Card and is satisfied that the card provides adequate information of the carrier's policy regarding pre-booking procedures for passengers with special needs.
During the course of this investigation, the Agency further notes that the carrier has, on its own motion, amended its policy on seat pre-assignments by eliminating the blanket policy of requiring the production of a medical certificate for all seat pre-assignment requests.
In light of the actions undertaken and documents provided by the carrier, the Agency hereby determines that all requirements contained in Order No. 1995-A-159 and Decision No. 208-A-1995 have now been met. Accordingly, no further action is required by the Agency with respect to this file.
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