MC Explains| Seniors, know your rights! Make your air travel easier than ever

Most elderly citizens tend to dread traveling alone, especially if they have to take a flight from a large, crowded airport.

Not only do senior citizens face difficulty in moving around with their baggage around large airports, they are also unaware of their rights as travellers and the facilities they can avail of.

What facilities are available to senior citizens when traveling?

Facilities at the airport

Under the provisions of the Aircraft Act and Indian Penal Code, airlines and airports must offer air travel assistance to seniors that includes assistance in boarding, deplaning and making connections to their next flight.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airports, Indian carriers and foreign airlines operating in India are liable for penal action if they fail to facilitate senior citizens, expectant mothers, passengers with a disability and first-time travellers.

“As all passengers are very important, valued and esteemed customers, any incident of a misdemeanour, discourteous behaviour and harassment shall be dealt with by the airline/airport operator on a top priority basis and shall be reported to DGCA," the aviation regulator says in its guidelines.

According to the DGCA, airline/airport operators are supposed to ensure the provision of automated buggies free of charge for all senior citizens, expectant mothers and persons with disabilities in the terminal building to facilitate their access to boarding gates located beyond a reasonable walking distance at all airports having annual aircraft movements of 50,000 or more.

Similarly, airport operators are expected to provide small trolleys after security checks for the carriage of hand baggage up to the boarding gate.
Airport operators are also required to display information regarding the availability of automated buggies and small trolleys in terminal buildings.

Airlines and airport operators are also expected to display the contact details of their contact person for passenger grievance redressal.

“Airlines/airport operators shall ensure that all the complaints are acknowledged immediately to the complainant and redressed at the earliest but not exceeding one month," the DGCA's rules state.

The ground staff of airlines and airports are also expected to be polite and courteous towards travellers and are expected to render all assistance to facilitate the travel of elderly citizens.

Medical facilities available at airports

According to the DGCA, it is mandatory for all airports in India to have a first aid center and doctor on call, and in case of any emergency, ambulance service to the nearest hospital.

“We have enlisted hospitals and doctors on call at some small airports, so that they could be summoned if there is an emergency. If a pilot informs about a medical emergency, we call doctors from these hospitals. But the response varies from place to place," a senior Airports Authority of India official said.

He added that in some towns like Salem, Neyveli and Thanjavur there are no good hospitals near the airports and hence it takes time for doctors to reach the airports.

"However, we have given training on first aid to fire and rescue services personnel to handle minor medical emergencies,” the official said.

A spokesperson of Delhi International Airport (DIAL) said that airports operating under a public-private partnership model have better facilities for disadvantaged people compared to AAI airports as they have to maintain worldwide ratings.

Airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, Mopa, Mundra, Ahmedabad, Kannur, Kochi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad have the facility of ferrying senior citizens from check-In point till boarding gate.

Similar facilities for passengers with limited mobility are there at other PPP airports. Along with this, there are ramps, disabled-friendly toilets, and travelators at all private airports.

Discount on tickets

Air India gives senior citizens a 25 percent discount on the basic fare on select bookings in economy class. IndiGo offers 6 percent off on the base fare for all citizens above the age of 60. SpiceJet also offers customers a 10 percent discount on base fare for those above 60.

Online travel agency Yatra.com offers senior citizens a flat 10 percent discount on domestic flights, up to Rs 1,200 and up to Rs 2,000 on international flights.

"To enjoy these special fares for senior citizens, you don't need to hop from one airline website to the other, you can now easily do so on Yatra by entering the promo code ARMY2022 at the time of booking," the website of Yatra.com read.

In order to avail of discounts on tickets, travellers will need a valid photo ID like a voter’s card, driving licence or passport.

How can senior citizens take advantage of facilities when traveling?

While discounts on tickets can be availed on the website of most airlines and online travel agencies, availing of facilities at the airport can be a bit tricky.

The most important factor in ensuring safe and comfortable air travel for senior citizens is time and planning.

In order to avail of facilities available at airports, senior citizens should try and ensure that they arrive at the airport at least 1.5 hours before the time of departure.

Senior citizens should call the airport or airline ahead of time to know what facilities they provide. The website of all airports also displays the numbers of the terminal manager on duty for both the arrival and departure terminals.

If the airport or airline is contacted beforehand, they will provide clear instructions on how to avail of all facilities at the airport.

Once at the airport, senior citizens should go to the ticketing counter of the airline they are traveling with in order to get a dedicated attendant assigned to them for the rest of their journey.

Most airlines also provide wheelchairs and dedicated attendants to senior citizens at their ticketing counters.

The chaperone will take you wherever you need to go and accompany you throughout your airport experience.

On reaching the terminal, senior citizens should use the reserved vehicular lanes. The location of such lanes is provided on the website of all airports.

Most airports also have phones to help passengers with reduced mobility throughout the terminals.