The mother of a disabled child complained to the prosecutor's office about the Pobeda airline

Muscovite Natalya Vorobyova filed a complaint against the Pobeda airline after they refused to put her on the plane next to her sick 14-year-old son, who required the constant presence of loved ones. The representatives of the carrier emphasized that the mother must pay extra to fly in the next seat with a disabled child.

“According to the woman, the carrier did not take into account the limitations of her child and violated the law”, - Kommersant reports.

Natalya Vorobyova used the services of the Pobeda company when flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg. On December 11, she traveled with two children, one of whom is her 14-year-old son with autism.

When checking in for the flight, the passenger was told that all family members would be seated in different rows. To sit with the children, she was offered to pay extra. However, the passenger refused, referring to Art. 106.1 of the Air Code, which states that when transporting passengers with disabilities, the airline must provide services to disabled people upon their request. Climbing on board, the passenger again turned to the company representatives with a request to transplant the children closer to her, but the flight attendants refused. They did this despite the fact that other passengers, seeing the peculiarities in the behavior of the boy with autism, volunteered to change places with him. At the same time, one of the stewards accompanied his refusal with "shouts and waving hands." This behavior had a negative impact on the sick child, who cannot stand loud sounds and sudden movements. Experts believe that the airline employees acted “ethically wrong” with respect to the passenger and her child. Most other carriers meet passengers with disabled children.

“Obviously, for the disabled and their attendants, the conditions are extreme, a person may not be able to hold a spoon, may behave in a special way. For other passengers who have bought a ticket in good faith, sitting next to a person who communicates poorly or has behavioral features is also extreme”, - the publication quotes Yelena Klochko, head of the All-Russian Organization of Parents of Disabled Children.

According to Natalya Vorobyeva, in this case the airline violates human rights: the “sit next to” service should not be paid.

In response to the passenger's appeal, Pobeda Airlines said that the client must inform about special needs during transportation in advance, namely when buying a ticket.

“Unfortunately, in the case of the 11 December flight, the client did not provide the airline with any information about special needs. We not only help people with disabilities with a free organization of special escorts on board, but we always do our best to provide neighboring seats in the cabin", - the publication quotes the words of a representative of Pobeda.

Earlier, Pobeda passengers had repeatedly received complaints of human rights violations during the separation of parents and children during flights. As noted by the Dozhd TV channel, after two such scandals several years ago, Rostransnadzor ordered the airline not to leave children under 12 years old from their parents.