Airlines Face Wheelchair Dilemma

As airlines and airports get more and more crowded following the relaxation of COVID restrictions, they also face a problem with a growing number of wheelchair users.

As one writer for the Washington-based publication, The Hill, noted in an opinion piece, the airlines are looking at a four-wheeled problem.

For instance, on one recent Southwest Airlines flight, there were 25 requests for wheelchair assistance. That’s almost six times the average.

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If you are one of the nearly millions of Americans who have flown on an airplane before, you know that an airplane is not built for a wheelchair. Sometimes, the aisle isn’t wide enough for a normal human being, much less a wheelchair.

Even the integrity of some people has been called into question.

I know that as someone who has to use a wheelchair right now and will do so for the next several months, I am scared to death to fly. My mind isn’t on mechanics or the weather or anything else, I’m just worried about getting on and off the plane.

Saying that some people are out to scam the system and board the airplane first, many passengers call them the ‘Jesus Flights’ The Hill writer noted. That is, some of the people who use wheelchairs to board first are miraculously cured by the time they get to their destination and don't need a wheelchair when getting off the plane. He believes airlines should board wheelchair users last so that it might be less enticing for people to fake needing one.

Trying to discern the legitimate from the scammers is a problem for the airlines. And, with so many airlines already canceling summer flights, the capacity is going to be reduced, meaning the problem will persist.

But that’s a judgment call by the airlines. Disabled or not, I don’t have any problem with wheelchair-bound people boarding first.