TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Disability Advocates

IATA’s Linda Ristagno Recipient of Disability Access Professional Award

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Linda Ristagno, Assistant Director of External Affairs, International Air Transport Association (IATA), is the eighth recipient of the Open Doors Organization’s Disability Access Professional Award in recognition of her contributions to accessibility and equity in aviation. The ceremony took place on October 26, 2022, at ODO’s Universal Access in Aviation event, co-hosted this year by American Airlines at their Skyview Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

Linda joined IATA in 2010 and worked initially on various projects including Human Anti-Trafficking and various Cargo initiatives. Since 2018 Linda has devoted her energies to bringing accessibility to the forefront of all segments of IATA. Her tireless work led to the landmark 2019 IATA AGM Resolution on Passengers with Disabilities that committed IATA’s members to adopt policy and process principles to advance accessibility for passengers with disabilities. Read More.

Ms. Wheelchair Minnesota Fights for More Accessible Bathrooms

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Linda Hood wearing the Miss Wheelchair Minnesota crown.

Linda Hood, a clinical scientist who has worked at the Olympics since 1984, contracted a rare autoimmune disease — Guillain-Barré syndrome – in 2018, and now uses a wheelchair. Earlier this year, Hood was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Minnesota, and is using her position to advocate for increased accessibility in public bathrooms.

Many wheelchair users, Linda included, require an adult-sized changing table in order to use the bathroom. Few businesses offer such an accommodation, and Linda’s husband Richard Smith strongly supports her advocacy. He said, “I have literally changed Linda on hospital floors, bathroom floors, many airport floors, bathroom floors and many other places, many times and it’s not comfortable,” Smith said.

Hood told CBS that “I just hope that some of the powers that be will hear me and say, ‘I wanna help, I wanna show her when she comes to US Bank Stadium to cheer on the Vikings that look, there’s a bathroom for her.’ And not just for me but for everyone in this situation.”

John Morris, founder of WheelchairTravel.org, has been tracking the installation of adult changing tables in U.S. airports. As of March 2022, only 12 airports offered the accessibility feature, so there is still a great deal of opportunity for airports and businesses to make their bathrooms accessible.

To read more about Linda’s mission, see the news report from CBS Minnesota.

Vroom, Vroom! Accessible Motorcycle Gang Roars to Life in India

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Group of disabled bikers in India.

Aameer Siddiqui was diagnosed with Post-Polio Residual Paralysis after his right leg became paralyzed at 18 months old. The disability didn’t stop Aameer – he earned an education and now works for India’s Department of Education.

In an effort to improve accessibility and inclusion in India, Aameer co-founded Eagle Specially Abled Riders in 2015. The group was established “with the aim of spreading awareness amongst people about social issues, and to draw attention towards disabled people,” said Aameer.

The accessible biker group completed the world’s longest accessible awareness ride in 2019, focusing on the ‘Importance of Education for Differently-Abled’. The 3,500km long ride began at India Gate in Delhi and went all the way to Gateway of India in Mumbai, before turning around and going back to India Gat. The journey was completed using scooters accessible to the riders’ disabilities.

The group, through its advocacy, is focused on improving the accessibility of tourist attractions and destinations. Ameer said: “An able-bodied person can use a ramp just as easily as stairs. Then what is the need for stairs? We must have ramps alone. The same goes for trains and buses. Buses have ramps only in the name; nobody waits long enough for us to use them.”

To read more about the Eagle Specially Abled Riders, check out the full story in Banega Swasth India.

OUR TAKE: The advocacy of Aameer and his motorcycle group is shifting the perception of disability in India, and it’s fantastic to see disabled people taking the lead on accessibility improvements!

Crip Camp Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary

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Crip Camp movie poster.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution is a 2020 documentary film that follows a number of prominent disability rights activists, beginning with their participation in 1971 at Camp Jened, a summer camp for teens with disabilities.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020, where it won the Audience Award. In March 2020, Crip Camp was released on Netflix and received substantial praise from both disabled and nondisabled people. In 2021, the film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature.

In the short (7 minutes) video below, CBS Sunday Morning takes a look at the film, the campers and the disability rights movement:

The 93rd Academy Awards will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 25, 2021 on ABC. While earning a nomination is an incredible honor, we do hope that Crip Camp and the film’s entire team including Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder will be able to take home the Oscar.

American Airlines Backpedals After Wheelchair Travel Blogger Speaks Out

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American Airlines planes at Chicago Airport, city skyline in background.

Last month, American Airlines made headlines after it refused to transport WheelchairTravel.org Founder and TravelAbility Advisory Board member John Morris, citing a new airline policy that deemed his power wheelchair too heavy to fly.

John, who has flown more than a million miles as a wheelchair user, took his case to the media, generating coverage by NPR, Travel + Leisure, The Dallas Morning News, Forbes and numerous other publications. Following the original NPR story, American Airlines stated that it would review its policy and “ensure all customers can travel wherever American flies.”

Last week, the airline announced that it had reversed the policy, allowing power wheelchair users like John to fly once again. Congratulations, John, on your successful advocacy campaign!

To read the latest NPR story, click here.   -JS