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Girl amputee sues airline for boarding refusal
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-18 08:11
The family of a 14-year-old girl who was refused permission to board a Hainan
Airlines plane and thus missing the chance to have her severed foot reattached
has decided to sue the airline.
However, a statement from the airline pointed out that the girl was on a
stretcher and that aviation regulations do not allow passengers to be
transported that way.
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Xiaoqing, a
14-year-old girl who was refused permission to board a Hainan Airlines
plane and thus missing the chance to have her severed foot reattached is
in hospital. [Xinhua]
| Zhang Qihuai, the girl's lawyer, told China Daily on Friday that he is trying
to get more evidence in the case. Zhang was confident of victory.
The right foot of Xiaoqing Zhang would not release her real name was
seriously injured after a traffic accident in Jiuquan in Northwest China's Gansu
Province on the morning of January 15. Short of both medical facilities and
experience, local doctors advised that she go to a larger hospital in Lanzhou
and have an operation within 12 hours.
Xiaoqing's father wanted to send her to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu
Province, by air. However, at the airport in Jiayuguan, the nearest one to
Jiuquan, boarding gate agents stopped them from boarding even after the father
begged them on bended knees.
Refused also by the flight's captain, Xiaoqing then boarded a bus to Lanzhou,
arriving at the hospital 18 hours after the accident. The foot had to be
amputated because part of it had already been infected with gangrene.
Zhang said the airline should be held responsible because it has no right to
prevent passengers with tickets from boarding. What is more, he said, the
booking office knew about the girl's situation before it sold the tickets, he
said.
The airline's statement said that the plane had only 32 seats and that,
according to aviation rules, it is not allowed to carry stretchers.
Dong Nianqing, an expert with the Civil Aviation Management Institute, said
the captain made the right decision to give priority to the safety of 30 other
people aboard.
"We should not disregard those rules because there have been many lessons
learnt," Dong said.
But Xiaoqing's family said they agreed to let the girl board without the
stretcher, but the captain refused that possibility, as well.
According to the Aviation Law, an airline may refuse entry to those whose
lives are in jeopardy.
But Zhang reasoned that Xiaoqing's life was not in jeopardy, as assured by
the doctor who accompanied her and her father to the airport.
Public opinion seemed to be on the girl's side. In an online survey, at least
90 per cent of the surveyed blamed the "merciless" airliner, believing
exceptions should be made in some cases.
In fact, rules have been broken before in China in order to save lives,
reported the Liaoshen Evening News in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
A newborn baby was permitted to board a China Southern Airlines flight to
have an operation in March 2004, although current rules forbid any one younger
than 15 days from boarding.
Wang Weimin, another expert with the institute, said that setting up a mature
contingency system would be the right thing to do in case of such emergencies.
(China Daily 02/18/2006 page1)
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