Air carrier in Hawaii eliminates wheelchair access

From KHON-TV in Hawaii:

Just days after air carrier Pacific Wings announced it's hiking airfares, the company now says it will no longer offer wheelchair access.

Pacific Wings says they cannot afford to spend the money on a wheelchair lift, meanwhile residents and doctors from Kalaupapa say that could have devastating affects.

19 survivors with Hansen's disease continue to live in the majestic Molokai peninsula of Kalaupapa, for these patients there is only one convenient way off and on to the island.

"Kalaupapa is something a little different," State Department of Transportation director Brennon Morioka said.

The Kalaupapa settlement is serviced by Pacific Wings airlines and a handful of chartered flights, but the cost to fly on Pacific Wings just went up.

"Who can afford five hundred dollars round trip," Kalaupapa patient Uncle Boogie Kahilihiwa said.

A few days ago Pacific Wings announced they would be raising their ticket prices, after briefly shutting down operations when the airlines CEO said an employee was assaulted by a State Department of Transportation contractor.

"New and higher expenses inflicted on the airline by HDOT make it cost-prohibitive to continue issuing, tracking, accounting and reporting voucher use," Pacific Wings CEO Greg Kahlstorf said.

"I think Pacific Wings is giving us the run around, if they get one dispute with DOT I don't think they should hold um against Kalaupapa or even the remote areas like Hana and Kamuela," Kahilihiwa said.

Now Pacific Wings says they won't offer Kalaupapa patients wheelchair access onto and off of their planes.

Pacific Wings says "the airline is no longer willing to incur costs and overhead for services it is not required, by law, to provide."

"Obviously if we don't have a lift we cant get the patients in and out, there's certain patients that can get up and down and then there's some patients that are wheelchair bound and depend on the lift," Kalaupapa physician Dr. Martina Kamaka said.

Pacific Wings says the cost of regular maintenance for the wheelchair lift is about 2500 dollars, something the State Department of Transportation says they offered to pay.

"Unfortunately he has not accepted our offer and has decided to ship the equipment elsewhere," Morioka said.

"I think the worst part is its affect on patient care," Dr. Kamaka said.

"These guys I don't know if they are only thinking about themselves," Kahilihiwa said.

Pacific Wings says the patient care and transportation should be provided by the State.