介绍:
Two passengers with HIV are suing the budget airline Spring Airlines for refusing to let them board a plane.
Local media reports say the two men and a friend, who does not have HIV, were prevented from boarding the plane at Shenyang airport.
The three of them are accusing the airline of discrimination. A court in Shenyang accepted their case last Friday.
Rights groups say that widespread stigmatisation of people with HIV and AIDS still exists in China.
The airline's president Wang Zhenghua said on Tuesday that the company did not discriminate against HIV carriers, and blamed the incident on staff anxiety.
Comments:
(JA) Chucky posted on Yahoo.com,
Why they have to tell everybody that they have HIV? I have diabetes, but I never tell crew members that I have diabetes. Those guys are inviting discrimination and then getting compensation.
(LK)Xiaoniaoyy posted on Weibo,
To me any infectious disease should be a reason to bar someone from a flight. However HIV seems like an extremely low risk. HIV is scary yet you won't get it by side next to someone carrying this virus. Heck we are flying Ebola patients all over the globe. I find that alarming. HIV not so much.
(QD)The KK-kisser posted on Tianya.cn,
HIV is transmittable only through blood or semen, and then it has to either enter through a break in the skin or taken internally. It's not transmittable through the air, urine, etc. Outside of sexual contact or IV drug use, there's no chance of catching HIV from someone. The crew is so stupid.
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Notes:
-The airline's president he also blamed the passengers, and said the firm would allow HIV-positive travellers to board their planes as long as they did not make themselves "overly noticeable" to avoid scaring other customers.
-Spring Airlines' website states that it has the right to refuse passage to those with "infectious diseases". An airline spokesman told Caixin that since the incident, the airline has not turned away any HIV-positive passengers.
-According to a report in the Fazhi Evening Paper the three men were preparing to board a flight to Shijiazhuang, which is south of Beijing, on 28 July when they were stopped by officials.
-One passenger told the paper: "After we got our boarding passes, we informed a Spring Airlines official that some of us had HIV."
-"The official immediately rang up the Shanghai head office for instructions, and then told us the company has rules forbidding the transportation of passengers with HIV."
-The passenger said they were unable to negotiate with airline officials, who terminated the three passengers' tickets. They eventually took a train to their destination.
-The three plaintiffs are now demanding compensation of 48,999 yuan (£4,771, $7,967) and an apology from the airline, said The Global Times.
-China only lifted a longstanding ban on foreigners with HIV entering the country in 2010.
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(JA) Bangtian_sky says on 163.com,
Spring airlines did discriminate the people with HIV. In its earlier version of 'Special Passenger Transport Regulation', HIV/AIDS passenger were barred from boarding the plane. After the incident, it has just canceled the item. Come on, no more discrimination. It's not as risky as you think.
(LY) Xiaolingbao A posted on yahoo.com,
China: discrimination, ostracization, stigma, low HIV rate. US: Celebration, prevention programs, openness, high HIV rate. China sure has something to learn from the US!! For safety reasons, Spring Airlines did it completely right.
(QD) Maxiu ershi debates on weibo.com,
I guess I am not a bigot. I would not be "afraid" of someone sitting next to me with aids. I would not want to hurt somebody who is suffering. Kicking someone while they are down is not something I am capable of. Ignorance is pitiful. Hate is disgusting.
