Balancing Act

Writing about Air Canada's implementation of the One Passenger, One Fare policy last week, I noticed,but failed to comment on this:

If any of the medical conditions listed below apply to you, you will require medical approval for travel. . . .

• You have an unstable medical condition (physical or psychological).


• You have suffered from a recent major medical incident (e.g. heart attack, heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure)


• You have chronic obstructive lung disease and/or a chronic heart condition.


• You have undergone surgery in the last 2 weeks on your brain, eyes, ears, sinuses, chest or abdomen.


• You have anaemia or leukemia.


• You require oxygen or need to use your personal oxygen concentrator (POC
  . . .


• You require the use of a battery operated medical device during the flight.


• You have an infectious or contagious disease such as the chicken pox, tuberculosis, etc.


• You require an attendant to assist you with your personal and physical needs during the flight. See the 'Travel with an attendant' section below.


• You have thrombophlebitis.


• You have had an incident on board a previous flight or at the airport and may require medical attention.


• You have caused a flight diversion on a previous flight you have taken.


• You are an Unaccompanied Minor and have a medical problem.


• You have an intellectual disability (e.g. Down syndrome, Alzheimer's disease). Air Canada offers a Service for Unaccompanied Adult Requiring Assistance


• You suffer from epilepsy.


• You are travelling with an infant aged 7 days or less or a premature infant or an infant with a medical condition.


• You have a cast that was placed on a part of your body less than 72 hours ago.


• You require an extra seat for medical reasons (e.g. leg cannot bend or flex or must remain extended at all times, back problems, full-leg cast, etc)

Now, some of those things I can most certainly understand (such as requiring oxygen, as an obvious one), but some did cause me to raise my eyebrows just a little. Like having an intellectual disability or epilepsy.

Sure, depending on the severity of your condition, I can understand that there may be times when an airline would need to know. But if you have well-controlled epilepsy or are mildly mentally intellectually challenged ... not so much.

And since when did mentally or physically challenged individuals need a doctor's approval to travel? Say what?

I was reminded of this when reading today's Chronicle Herald (scroll down to the bottom of the linked page) and saw this short piece.

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