Flyers with special needs: Airport staff get lessons

KOLKATA: Airline staff and CISF personnel at Kolkata airport, who screen and frisk passengers, were trained in handling the flyers with autism, speech impediment, attention deficit disorder and learning difficulties during a workshop on Monday.

Held at the airport, the workshop was attended by 60 CISF personnel along with some airline officials and airport staff. The counsellors of a mental health institute, who conducted the workshop, taught them gestures and moves to communicate with the flyers with special needs.

"The special assistance counters at the airports are not only for the passengers requiring wheelchairs but also for those with intellectual challenges. The flyers with special needs may not always appear to be requiring assistance. Often, they look like normal passengers but they have certain difficulties. So, a thorough understanding of the conditions is important and that is what we taught the officials," said Minu Budhia, founder, psychotherapist and counsellor of Caring Minds, I Can Flyy and Cafe I Can Flyy, that help hundreds of children with special needs in the city. Mother of a special child, who suffers from low IQ and ADHD, Budhia highlighted the problems faced by the special children and their parents at the airport.
"With intellectual disability included in 'Divyang' the passengers with special needs and their guardians have the right to use the Divyang lanes, too. It's a very simple thing that will create an inclusive flying experience for these passengers," she added.
The counsellors explained how simple things like standing in queues, baggage disappearance, following instructions and frisking through gadgets can be challenging for the flyers with special needs. The airline staff and CISF personnel were taught to make the process comfortable for these passengers.
Earlier, TOI reported the problems faced by the specially-abled flyers at the airport. Disability activist Jeeja Ghosh, who had faced harassment on multiple occasions, said, "Since I contact the CISF before travelling, I get a royal treatment now. Kolkata airport and CISF need to advertise about this facility so that others can avail of it as well." A senior airport official said they often fail to understand the needs of flyers with special needs and a miscommunication makes the journey unpleasant for them. "More workshops on the issue will benefit our staff," the official added.