I shouldn't have to fight for dignity every time I get on a plane

Hard work. That’s how I feel when I think about flying. Calculating what might go wrong, and how much I need to suck up to get through it. 

I write this not as an abstract policy exercise but as a woman with a spinal cord injury who uses a wheelchair. The very nature of my career in international law has meant the need to travel frequently for work. For decades I’ve navigated systems never built with disability in mind. Nowhere is that more obvious than in aviation. Every step of a journey – from check in to disembarking – contains barriers, microaggressions. Moments when my dignity becomes negotiable. 

I’m used to people not speaking to me, not looking at me – the constant, quiet reminders that I’m irrelevant, an inconvenience. Before I even reach the gate, I’m preparing for contingencies. 

Will my wheelchair come up from the hold intact and, if not, will it be repairable?

Will I have to argue for staff to let me keep my collapsible manual chair onboard, which makes disembarking faster for everyone, or will cabin space for coats win?

Will I get the seat I requested, or will I have to ask another passenger to swap because staff have made unilateral decisions about where they think I should sit?   

Then there’s the battery inquisition. I carry evidence: photos, specs, (too many) letters. I explain – again and again – that my chair uses non-lithium batteries. Yet, I can’t escape the same grilling. The safe carriage requirements are clear. Inconsistency at the counter is a choice, not a technical inevitability. 

Even making it onboard doesn’t guarantee dignity. Aircraft cabinetry and ‘privacy’ fins can make safe transfers impossible and put staff and passengers at risk. Aisle chairs – the narrow devices used to get us to our seats – are often unstable and badly configured. Nothing about that is safe. 

Then there’s the social environment: the condescending glances, the impatience of fellow passengers queued behind me because boarding wasn’t paused long enough for a safe transfer. These aren’t inconveniences – they are reminders that the system was not designed with me, or anyone like me, in mind. 

The Federal Government’s Aviation White Paper finally acknowledges what people with disability have said for years: our air travel system has entrenched inaccessibility. In response, it has committed to aviation specific disability standards – enforceable obligations for airlines and airports. This work has commenced and will be aided by passenger assistance profiles and an end to arbitrary caps on travellers who need assistance. These commitments must now move from promise to practice.

The Government plans an Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme. But stronger rights on paper won’t matter if day-to-day practice at airports and onboard doesn’t change. 

Culture can't be legislated. But rules can reset it. Courts have previously accepted ‘turnaround times’ and low-cost business models to justify reduced accessibility. This logic – that an airline’s business model outweighs the rights of disabled passengers – has left too many of us stranded. Properly designed standards can close that loophole by making accessibility a baseline requirement. 

So what should these new standards do? 

First, establish a single, consistent preapproval process for mobility devices and batteries, recognised across airlines – including international carriers. An optional, secure passenger assistance profile, reused with consent, would remove hours of friction. 

Second, require airlines to allow collapsible manual wheelchairs in cabins where possible. When chairs must go in the hold, mandate a purpose-built protective container so mobility devices are secured once and not dismantled in every transfer. 

Third, set minimum design requirements: stable and nimble aisle chairs; transfer spaces that allow safe lateral transfers; and cabin layouts that don’t use ‘privacy’ as a barrier. 

Fourth, embed competency-based training – not a one-off module – for staff handling transfers, mobility aids and assistance animals. 

Finally, require transparent reporting and real enforcement. Publish data on wheelchair damage, mismanaged assistance profiles and accessibility related delays. Ensure oversight bodies have the power to compel remedies and address systemic issues. 

What do we need from this system? Dignity by design. Since travelling as Disability Discrimination Commissioner, I know these things can be achieved. Airlines can do it and do it well, but it needs to be universal for all people with disability. 

I want sub-20-minute check-ins. I want my chair to come back as it left me – intact. I want all people with disability to experience air travel in a dignified and respectful way, that responds to diverse needs and requirements. And I want fellow travellers to see accessibility not as another imposition but a benefit for everyone.  

The Australian Government is now consulting on the Aviation Disability Standards. I encourage people – whether you travel often, work in aviation, or simply care about fairness – to make a submission. Tell government and industry that dignity and access aren’t an upgrade. They are the minimum standards for a country whose public transport must serve the public in all our diversity.

About Rosemary Kayess, Disability Discrimination Commissioner

Rosemary Kayess

Disability Discrimination Commissioner

Rosemary Kayess, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, leads efforts to promote equality and dismantle barriers for Australians with disabilities.

Learn more about Rosemary Kayess

Media contact

Email: media@humanrights.gov.au or phone: 0457 281 897