Italian/French/German

Hi, my name is Giulia Lamarca. When I was 19, I was injured in a motorbike accident, and I ended up in a wheelchair.  But I started to travel around the world as soon as I recovered from surgery. I’m asking for your support today to give people with disabilities the right to travel by plane both for work or leisure. 

Traveling makes me free, to walk again and to discover the world. Unfortunately, I run into a lot of challenges every time I travel by plane. Although there are very clear procedures and international law should protect passengers of all abilities, the staff at the airport isn’t always well-trained and informed, and the rules are often ignored or misinterpreted by airline companies and airports.

Toilets on board are not accessible to disabled people. The airport assistance in some countries is poor or nonexistent. Nowadays there are still many airports that do not guarantee assistance to people with disabilities. Imagine leaving without knowing whether you will receive assistance after you’ve landed. But most of all, too many times, I felt I was not treated like a person. I was just a problem they needed to fix, and my rights as a passenger were not respected.

About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability. That's about one billion people. The truth is that a lot of people with disabilities experience all sorts of issues before embarking to a plane, while they are onboard and when they arrive at their destination. Because of these problems, many disabled people decide not to travel. 

My passion for traveling gave me the strength to overcome my condition, it makes me feel alive, and I am incredibly motivated to find a solution to these problems. 

I want to ask the airlines that are part of SkyTeam and Star Alliance--the two biggest airline companies in the world--to work together to design international and inclusive best practices to make the journey easier for everyone. Every year they transport around a billion and a half passengers around the world, and they can make a huge difference if they decide to. Let’s improve travel standards for people with disabilities. I am talking about the entire customer journey, from the ticket purchase to the arrival at final destination. Every step of the process is closely connected to the next and requires specific solutions. 

• All employees who deal with passengers need proper training.
• A first step could be making the purchasing of a ticket easier by making the online experience to contact special assistance more user-friendly.
• We need to rewrite the standards that every airport and airline company needs to meet!

The purpose of this petition is not to attack airlines companies, but it is a request for a collaboration, an opportunity to improve all passengers’ experiences and find solutions to make travel inclusive for everyone, including people with mobility and sensory impairments.

We are human beings and we ask to be treated as such. We have the same rights as everyone else. 

Sign this petition to help me to reach airline companies and bring about needed change. 

Would you like to know more about my story? Follow me on instagram.