Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Following a lawsuit filed against Lion Air over its alleged discrimination against disabled people, experts said on Thursday that the country's transportation services were still far from adequate even though facilities for the disabled were required by law.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday by Ridwan Sumantri in the Central Jakarta District Court following what he perceived to be discrimination by Lion Air against the disabled. He said he felt discriminated against when flying with the carrier from Jakarta to Bali on April 11.

Ridwan, who is in a wheelchair, told media he was denied a request to be have a seat near the door and that he had to be carried to his seat in the middle part of the plane. He was also asked to sign a letter agreeing that he would shoulder the medical costs of other passengers who fell ill because of him.

"The law already accommodates the needs of disabled people, including their need to have special facilities. There should never be any discrimination," Kamis Martono, an air law expert at Tarumanagara University, said on Thursday.

Kamis cited the 2009 Aviation Law, which states that airlines and airport services are required to provide special services for people who are disabled, elderly, younger than 12 years old and those who are ill.

Those services, he added, included prioritizing them for certain seats, providing facilities to make it easier for them to board and deplane and also provide assistance for those unable to communicate verbally.

Dudi Sudibyo, an aviation expert, said the suit was needed to raise awareness of providing help for people with special needs.

"I am quite happy that someone filed a lawsuit about this because there is still no awareness on providing services to people with special needs. They may have wheelchairs in the airport for elderly people, but that's just about it," Dudi said. "There are no facilities for disabled people. To be honest, we are not friendly towards them," he added.

Disability services should also apply to other transportation, he argued, such as the TransJakarta busway. Lion Air said it could not comment on the matter as it had not received the legal documents.