Settlement makes for friendlier skies: Disabled fliers reach agreement with Delta Airlines, Metro airport over access

By Jo Mathis Legal News Jill Babcock got a pleasant surprise when she arrived at Detroit Metro from Chicago the other day. Though her wheelchair suffered a flat tire down in cargo, she said the airline employees who rushed to assist her couldn't have been friendlier. "The change is already apparent in how we're being treated," said Babcock, 40, a tax accountant for the Michigan Economic Development in Livonia. "We're making progress." Babcock is encouraged by the recent conclusion of a lawsuit filed in 2008 against Delta (then Northwest) Airlines and the Wayne County Airport Authority on behalf of five disabled passengers who claimed they'd been denied equal access to air travel and facilities. The suit was dismissed when the airlines and the authority agreed to make improvements at Metro that will bring the facility into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The changes will be noticed at the McNamara Terminal, North Terminal, Westin Hotel, parking garages and shuttle buses. Disability rights attorney Richard Bernstein, who took on the case pro bono, said the changes will make travel easier for people with disabilities and senior citizens in large and small ways, from modifications at the airport hotel to accessible shuttle busses to curb cuts and modified speakers for the hearing impaired. "This is so exciting because it's an example of the law making a very big difference in people's lives," said Bernstein, who worked four years on the case. "This will have an unbeliveably positive impact on people's lives in a very big way, and revolutionize the way people with disabilities travel around the world." Just as a lawsuit he filed against the University of Michigan to make the stadium accessible has in turn made Michigan Stadium a model for ADA compliance throughout the country, and ridership rose when Detroit fixed its wheelchair lifts on city buses, Bernstein believes Metro Airport and Delta Airlines will become examples of ADA compliance. "It's good business," he said. "And just as ticket sales soared in the disabled section at the stadium, people love when you make something ADA accessible and compliant. If you build it, they will come. "Detroit Metro Airport and Delta Airlines now made this a genuine priority over the next two years, and that means people with disabilities and seniors are going to opt to fly Delta. And when people are making a connecting flight, people will opt to make it in Detroit." Providing an accessible, safe travel experience for all airport users is a top priority for Delta and the Wayne County Airport Authority, said airport spokesman Michael Conway. "The Airport Authority, Delta and the plaintiffs have worked together to develop an action plan that enhances airport accessibility for all of our patrons." Conway said in a statement. "The plan includes a number of actions that the Airport Authority and Delta have voluntarily agreed to implement even though they may extend beyond legal requirements. "We remain deeply committed to enhancing the accessibility of the airport for all users and look forward to working with everyone involved in implementing the action plan." Bernstein said that flying has been so hard for the disabled, that most flew only when absolutely necessary, sometimes turning down jobs that required air travel. Before this litigation, the only way to get federal enforcement of civil rights for the disabled was to go through the Federal Aviation Administration, which wasn't enforcing them, Bernstein said. "Awareness creates understanding," he said. "That's the key. Once people are aware, they're empathetic and understand why these issues are so important." He believes the litigation will serve as a model airport for airport construction and medication or alteration around the country. And he hopes those with disabilities take advantage of the changes as they are made over the next two years. "I want to see people with disabilities taking on jobs wouldn't have taken on, and seniors taking adventures wouldn't have taken," he said. "I want to see people using the airport, flying and having fun, getting involved in things and feeling no limitations. "Now you're going to have an airport everybody can use. What's good for the disabled is good for everybody. It's also very senior-friendly." Babcock, a Farmington resident who was born with a progressive neurological disorder, travels a lot both for leisure and business and has found that traveling with a wheelchair is difficult. Last year, the airlines broke an axle on her chair and she fell backwards when she sat in it. Another time, her wheelchair was taken to baggage claim, leaving her to figure out how to get there without it. An airline once gave her wheelchair to another passenger. She's had both Delta and Continental buy her a new chair because of the damage in cargo. "But those are only the tip of the iceberg," she said. "It's not just aesthetic. It can be very, very dangerous." She said the result of the lawsuit is exciting because it reminds more people that those with physical challenges are consumers, too. "I'm very excited that a clarification of the ADA now includes the airline industry," she said. "Once again it gives disabled people value. We're just like everybody else." Babcock is looking forward to a trip to Marseille later this month. "This couldn't happen at a better time," she said. Published: Tue, Oct 4, 2011

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