Domestic Airport Lacks Facilities for Disabled: Bali

Interesting letter in yesterday’s Jakarta Post regarding the lack of facilities for those people in our society who are physically impaired. I dislike the word ‘disabled’!. After I read the letter, I mentally walked around the airport picturing in my mind the situation there, and yes, there are no facilities. Here’s the letter:

On April 23 I went to Denpasar, Bali, from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport. I am disabled by polio but I can walk slowly. After checking in at the AirAsia counter, I requested wheelchair service for mobility.

Everything was smooth until I had to go down the stairs leading to the plane, because the steps were not equipped with banisters on both sides. So I had to step down backward to maintain stability, and in the scorching sun as there was no roof. Then I used another wheelchair to reach the plane stairs, which fortunately were roofed over.

The domestic flight section is part of our international airport, serving also as the gate for foreign visitors to Indonesia. It should therefore be made more accessible by providing safe and convenient facilities not only for the disabled, but also for aged people, pregnant women, toddlers, convalescents and passengers with luggage.

How can disabled people properly contribute to the development of this country if no ramps, no staircase banisters and no lifts are built at airports? Despite the availability of wheelchairs, the mobility of the handicapped remains hampered unless the airport environs are easily accessible. Anyway, the wheelchair service deserves appreciation.

INGE KOMARDJAJA
Bandung