The renowned Chilean animator Mario Kreutzberger, Better known as “Don Francisco,” said his deep discomfort after a recent experience at the Arturo Merino Benítez airport in Santiago. Through a letter published this Saturday in El Mercurio, he strongly criticized the conditions of the air terminal, where he assured that The basic needs of those people with reduced mobility who travel through the place would not be met.
In his letter, Kreutzberger qualifies the airport as “disabled”, pointing to an alarming disconnection between the modernization of infrastructure and lag in assistance services for those who require support. In that sense, the animator’s call is to that the responsible authorities take the necessary measures to improve the situation, Among them the Ministry of Public Works, the New Pudahuel concessionary society, and the Ministry of Health.
Let us remember that it is It is not the first time that Don Francisco attacks the airport. In April 2023 he had already referred to the issue of reduced mobility, and August of the same year alluded to the little care that the air terminal bathrooms would have had.
It hurts to say it, but Arturo Merino Benítez airport in Santiago de Chile is “disabled”. As I have already pointed out on several occasions, while airports become larger, support for people with disabilities have not advanced. With more travelers every year and a growing number of older people who require assistance, the facilities of our main air terminal have not adapted properly to a new reality.
A few days ago, I arrived at the airport with a person who has motor difficulties. Although I appreciate that you have waited for me with a wheelchair, I must point out that if someone with disabilities needs this service, you must walk three blocks from the main door to the place where they should deliver the chair. As you will imagine, this is absolutely absurd.
In our case, when we tried to advance with the chair, one of the wheels was broken and did not work. People close to the service informed me that a high percentage of the chairs is in poor condition or out of circulation. When asked the young man who managed her about her training to give this service, she replied that she had none. I asked him out of curiosity, what would I do if I had to lower a gutter that had no special recess for these vehicles, and gave me an answer that, for my experience, would have caused the person to fall dangerously from the wheelchair.
On the way to the boarding door, I found several older people moving very difficult. One of them told me that I had walked more than 25 minutes, and as they point to me, this happens frequently. The airport has very few electric cars, and those that exist are insufficient for current needs. The bad, for us passengers, is that the areas are not responsible for this service, and when claiming, they point out that it is something that corresponds to those in charge of the air terminal.
The airport is owned by the State of Chile, through the Ministry of Public Works, and is operated by the Nuevo Pudahuel concessionary society. I think then it is time for all of them to, including the Ministry of Health, feel at a table and take over the issue.
Every year, more than 25 million passengers go through this airport. In Chile, 17% of the population of 2 years and more lives with some type of disability, and the world Health Organization estimates that approximately 1% of the world’s population needs a wheelchair. And to these figures we add that the United Nations estimates that the population over 65 will double in the coming decades, reaching more than 16% in 2050. These statistics are clear and we cannot continue to ignore them.
Passengers with disabilities and the elderly deserve dignified and efficient treatment.
We need the airport to be accessible to all.
Mario Kreutzberger B.
Related news :