MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a case lodged by the Consumer Protection Society against air carriers refusing to provide services to wheelchair-bound and other disabled passengers.
The court agreed with the Transportation Ministry’s reasoning that under the current air code, an air carrier may deny service to a person in a wheelchair or on a stretcher if there are no facilities or no space on board the plane.
Judge Nikolai Romanenko ruled that the air code does not violate the rights of disabled people.
The plaintiffs argued that the code is at odds with the Russian Constitution which guarantees the equality of all citizens.
They insisted that if a carrier lacks the required facilities it should arrange a flight on another carrier that has such facilities at its own expense or pay compensation to a passenger who has been denied service.