This would be a win-win scenario for airlines and passengers alike.ĭata may increase the visibility of travelers with disabilities. I believe this new rule could be a step towards the AmbuLift’s adoption in the United States, as they eliminate the need for baggage handlers to physically lift power wheelchairs. This speeds up the stowage and return of power wheelchairs, improving the experience for travelers with disabilities. These vehicles look a lot like catering trucks, and allow wheelchairs to be taken directly from the door of the aircraft to the cargo hold. If you’ve traveled abroad, you might have encountered an AmbuLift. airlines might finally use the AmbuLift to load wheelchairs. Let’s hope my days of sitting on an aisle chair for an hour in the jetway are over. The DOT’s requirements for better record-keeping should result in more accurate information being passed on to baggage handlers. The majority of the time, though, airport ground crews receiving my flights appear surprised at the discovery of a power wheelchair in the plane’s cargo hold. When my mobility device (which weighs 300-pounds) is left off this manifest, the crews are unable to prepare for its timely return to the gate/terminal. Gate-checked wheelchairs may be returned more quickly.Īirlines generate a cargo manifest for each flight, which informs personnel at the destination airport what is being transported in the belly of the aircraft. Based on the contents listed, ground crews position the machinery, equipment and manpower necessary to ensure that the job is done. There are several benefits that we may realize as a result, which I have described below.
But that doesn’t mean the new rule is worthless. With there being only about a 3% rate of damage to wheelchairs, I don’t believe this new reporting requirement will have much of an effect on the handling of my wheelchair. In a meeting with Delta Air Lines, I learned that only 3.34 of every 100 wheelchairs they carried in 2014 were damaged, with most instances being quite minor.
But I have what is perhaps the largest sample size of traveling with a personal power wheelchair over the past 3 years (450+ flights), and these instances are rare. I’ve been the victim of wheelchair damage on numerous occasions, and one of my chairs was written off as a total loss after being dropped from an airplane. I could go on and on.ĭamage to wheelchairs can be a big problem – when it happens. Nothing to improve the accessibility of lavatories, increase safety in emergency evacuations, enforce the right to select seats in advance, guarantee the timely return of gate-checked mobility devices or require the adequate disclosure of relevant travel information (like cargo hold dimensions).
airlines will be required to report on how often they mishandle wheelchairs.
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