- Budget arm of Cathay Pacific came under fire for not allowing blind passengers to fly to Tokyo; Hong Kong Blind Union has sought government assistance for the incident
Hong Kong budget airline HK Express vows to boost training after two blind passengers were taken off a flight. Photo: SCMPHK Express, the budget arm of Cathay Pacific Airways, has once again expressed regret for its “insufficiency” and vowed to improve staff training after two visually impaired passengers were directed off a flight in Hong Kong.
The airline has made a compensation offer to the pair, but a campaign group has demanded an inquiry into the controversy.
The Hong Kong Blind Union on Monday handed in a petition to the Transport and Logistics Bureau to ask for its help in dealing with the incident.
The union also asked authorities to improve monitoring systems as they renewed its call for an inquiry carried out by Cathay Pacific.
“HK Express has completed a comprehensive internal investigation into this incident,” the budget carrier said.
Billy Wong Chun-hang, president of the union, on Monday said he hoped the letter could encourage the government to work on aviation service guidelines for people with disabilities with the Equal Opportunities Commission.
“We hope that the guidelines will no longer be a ‘toothless tiger’ and could become regulations, so airlines contravening them would have to bear the consequences,” Wong said.
The Civil Aviation Department released the “Guidance for Airline Operators in Hong Kong: Facilitation of Persons with Reduced Mobility in Air Travel” in 2015. The Equal Opportunities Commission published the “Easy-to-Read Guide for Accessible Air Travel in Hong Kong” in 2017, but they are not legally binding according to the union.
HK Express added that a difference of opinion between ground staff and cabin crew on the duo’s fitness to fly because of their disablilty was the reason the two were ordered off the plane, which was scheduled to take off for Tokyo.
The pair were booked on another HK Express flight to the Japanese capital later the same day.
“After further assessments and communication regarding emergency escape and safety procedures with the two visually impaired passengers, we determined that the two passengers could safely fly without an accompanying person and immediately arranged for them to board another flight to their destination on the same day,” the airline said.
“HK Express acknowledges insufficiency concerning the execution, which resulted in the two passengers’ travel delay. We sincerely apologise for this.”
It added that the budget airline was “committed” to improvements in training and implementation procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The affected passengers have yet to accept the carrier’s compensation offer, which included a refund of the flight’s ticket costs, all personal expenses run up because of the delay and an additional pair of tickets.
The Hong Kong Blind Union said it had asked HK Express’s parent company to carry out an investigation and that it was disappointed it had not received a reply.
The social struggles of ethnic minorities
The union added it hoped the government would intervene and called for monitoring and accountability of airlines by the Civil Aviation Department and the Equal Opportunities Commission to be improved.
HK Express triggered a storm of protest after the incident was publicised by the blind union.
The incident happened about 3pm on May 22, when Andy Chui Man-chun, 34, and John Li Chun-yin, 27, boarded the HK Express flight.
They had earlier told the airline about their disability and had gone through check-in without problems.
They were escorted to the boarding gate and briefed on safety procedures by crew members.
But, just minutes before take-off, a crew member asked whether they were accompanied by parents, then asked them to get off the flight for “safety reasons”.
The two were told they did not meet safety standards and could not take the flight and that order was given by the pilot.
The pair said they were confused by the request and tried to reason with the cabin crew member, but he pulled Li’s arm and dragged him off the plane, forcing Chui to follow.
Li and Chui added that other passengers were puzzled by the order and asked why visually impaired people were not allowed on a regular scheduled flight.
But HK Express denied that the men had been removed by force and insisted the passengers had been asked to leave the cabin.
The airline added the decision was made because ground staff and cabin crew had reached different conclusions on whether the two men could travel unaccompanied and that time had been needed for management to carry out an assessment.
The airline later apologised and provided the requested boarding escort after the blind union intervened.