There are currently widespread discussions online regarding wheelchair use at airports, due to a video that’s going viral. While I know many people think that some travelers are scamming or abusing the system, I think it’s a little more nuanced than that.
In this post:
The viral Air India wheelchair video at Chicago O’Hare
A video on Twitter/X showing the gate area for an Air India flight out of Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) has now been viewed close to 15 million times. The reason it’s getting so much attention is because of the massive queue of wheelchairs at the gate.
While you’ll of course find passengers on all kinds of flights requesting wheelchairs, some airlines have more frequent wheelchair requests than others. For example, on Air India flights from the United States, it’s not uncommon to see 30% of passengers requesting wheelchairs.
The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to provide wheelchairs at the airport for all passengers with disabilities at no extra cost. This is an important service that many people legitimately need, and rely on in order to be able to travel.
Of course when videos like this are posted, people will often accuse some of these passengers of abusing the system or scamming the airline in order to be able to board early.
Personally, I think it’s a little more nuanced than that. Does everyone who requests a wheelchair need it in terms of mobility? Probably not. But it’s also important to keep in mind the passenger profile on many of these flights.
You have a lot of elderly travelers coming to visit their children and grandchildren in the United States. They might not be familiar with traveling internationally, they may not speak English, and they may just be scared to navigate airports without assistance. For a lot of people, international travel is intimidating. So ordering the wheelchair service is a way that they can have their “hand held” throughout the airport experience.
It’s a little different than what some passengers on Southwest have historically been accused of, where the airline has an open seating policy, and the widespread belief is that some people request wheelchairs in order to be able to board early, and have their choice of seats (this advantage will end soon, when Southwest switches to assigned seating).
These wheelchairs are costly, but is there a solution?
Many people don’t realize just how costly these wheelchair services are for airlines. Last year, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle claimed that each time a passenger requests a wheelchair, it costs the airline $30-35. So if you have dozens and dozens of those requested per flight, the cost really adds up, and can materially eat into margins (especially for connecting itineraries — admittedly I suspect the cost for providing this service is lower in India than in the United States).
The issues go beyond that, though. It also takes a lot longer to get passengers in wheelchairs onboard planes, so it makes the boarding process take longer, which can complicate operations.
So one certainly wonders if there’s any creative solution that airlines could implement that could give passengers extra guidance in the airport, without actually having them request a wheelchair.
You always see some people suggesting that airlines should charge passengers for using wheelchairs, but that’s not happening, because it’s illegal.
Is there another option, though? Could carriers like Air India introduce some sort of a group escort system to take people to gates, for those who feel like they need help navigating the airport? After all, it would be a lot cheaper to have one person guiding a group of a dozen people, rather than each individual person having a wheelchair attendant.
Okay, that’s probably not realistic either. But still, I’m convinced there must be some creative solution, since I’m convinced the issue here isn’t “scamming,” but partly just people wanting some help in an unfamiliar environment.
Bottom line
While all airlines have to provide wheelchairs for passengers as needed, the rate at which they’re requested seems to vary massively based on the airline, route, etc. In the United States, Air India flights appear to most consistently have a high percentage of passengers ordering wheelchairs, with some flights having 30% of passengers requesting them.
These wheelchair requests are costly, though airlines are legally required to offer this service. Unlike many others, I don’t necessarily think that the goal for most people it to scam or abuse the system. Instead, I think the request is often due to unfamiliarity with airports, and not wanting to navigate them alone. It seems like there should be some creative middle ground option that’s offered, which provides some level of guidance, without being so costly for airlines.
What do you make of this airport wheelchair situation, and do you think there’s a solution?
As a young disabled person with an invisible disability, some of the comments here.... Man. I just hope everyone knows one day you'll be disabled too, (yes old age is a disability) and you'll understand the struggle we face.
Providing access to services like this and making passengers pay for it is generally going to be illegal and a violation of human rights. Imagine making passengers pay for the bus driver to lower a ramp...
As a young disabled person with an invisible disability, some of the comments here.... Man. I just hope everyone knows one day you'll be disabled too, (yes old age is a disability) and you'll understand the struggle we face.
Providing access to services like this and making passengers pay for it is generally going to be illegal and a violation of human rights. Imagine making passengers pay for the bus driver to lower a ramp for an elderly or disabled person to get into a bus easier? It's the same thing.
Making disabled people pay for this just because there's abuse of the service is giving "make benefits harder to access because there's people "abusing" the system" vibes.
If any airport or airline is considering ways to mitigate this issue, I surely hope they are in fact CONSULTING disabled people/advocates over this because this directly impacts us. We often give up our mobility aids at the check in desk to make it easier for the airlines and airports to get the plane packed and ready to go. Many of the suggestions offered here in the comments will just force us to take our aids with us to the gate and that just delays things even further.
Also I find the suggestion that disabled people get boarded last actually kinda discriminatory as well. I'm sure if you broke your leg, you wouldn't want the entire plane to watch you hobble slowly down the aisle. Lest you need to use the aisle wheelchair. There's a reason we are generally boarded first and deplaned last.
The real answer to this is not limiting the wheelchair system, it's by widening the assistance system. Ofter more ways of moving around the airport, offer translators and guides, offer assistance programs for elderly travelling alone. This is on the Indian Airlines to mitigate this, because it's clearly their services being pushed to their maximum. I do not doubt there is a large percentage of people who genuinely need services like wheelchairs, but if your only option for assistance is a wheelchair or nothing? People are going to take the wheelchair.
One thing other commentors missed is, in India, millennials and GenZs are first to get graduated in their family. Their parents(in 50s) or Grand parents cannot read English except for their mother tongue. That is where this help comes in. Even if you board then last in the plain they don't care because all they need is a helping hand to navigate.
Do I have solution for it? no. Will people willing to pay for the service? Many are
Are we really trying to justify what is happening here?
Funny you say that, as British Airways now offers a “Meet and Assist” service on all India flights, where language qualified staff will escort groups of around 10 travellers through the airport to the gate. This has greatly reduced wheelchair requests on these flights.
The cultured westerners got another reason to bash Indians. They can only look outwards and not inwards that is why they are lost.
I work freelance ground services at an Asian airport and I absolutely detest them.
Not only do these people impatiently rush you for wheelchair assistance, but their families also expect a buggy to ferry the entire extended family — FOR FREE.
Ever tried flying to Alicante. The Benidorm crowd are well versed in this
Passing on the cost to passengers who requested the assistance is the best solution in this case.
One thing I have noticed in my travels are some people are overly cautious about getting lost. It makes people behave weirdly.
I know there are some cultural differences about how elders get treated but it will be a cold day in when I would view wheelchair use as a status symbol. If I had a true need I would in a heartbeat. Fear of the unfamiliar is not a disability.
Many years...
One thing I have noticed in my travels are some people are overly cautious about getting lost. It makes people behave weirdly.
I know there are some cultural differences about how elders get treated but it will be a cold day in when I would view wheelchair use as a status symbol. If I had a true need I would in a heartbeat. Fear of the unfamiliar is not a disability.
Many years ago I was on a flight with my spouse and toddler. There was a woman on the plane that was visibly upset that my child had a seat and was allowed to use his aircraft approved seat during the flight when her grandchild couldn’t. I think she thought discrimination was going on. It was sort of. My offspring had a seat we had purchased for him (he had passed his second birthday.) Her grandchild was much younger and was not going to get a seat on a full flight as a lap baby. But in her mind she was getting shafted.
I recently witnessed an example of a western man in his 50s in a wheelchair. Once at the end of the jet bridge, he was able to stand up without any obvious difficulties and he even bent over to grab his bag when he dropped it on the floor without asking for assistance. Then we walked in along the aisle without any signs of limping whatsoever.
I thought he only did it out of...
I recently witnessed an example of a western man in his 50s in a wheelchair. Once at the end of the jet bridge, he was able to stand up without any obvious difficulties and he even bent over to grab his bag when he dropped it on the floor without asking for assistance. Then we walked in along the aisle without any signs of limping whatsoever.
I thought he only did it out of convenience (and he was a large person), but then I saw this viral clip and it makes sense why the wheelchair abuse is a thing now.
That's not necessarily true. Disability is not a binary "either you're healthy enough to run a marathon or you're a paraplegic". There are lots of people who can walk short distances but can't walk the length of some of these massive concourses, especially with a carryon and personal bag in tow. Or line up and stand for extended periods of time on a jetbridge with those bags. But, once at the door, they can walk...
That's not necessarily true. Disability is not a binary "either you're healthy enough to run a marathon or you're a paraplegic". There are lots of people who can walk short distances but can't walk the length of some of these massive concourses, especially with a carryon and personal bag in tow. Or line up and stand for extended periods of time on a jetbridge with those bags. But, once at the door, they can walk the much shorter distance to their seat itself.
While there are definitely people who abuse the system, just because this man is able to walk up his seat from the front door doesn't mean he didn't need the wheelchair up to that point.
I’m afraid there’s no way around it. The Air Carrier Access Act needs to be modified to allow charging.
Look at how Airasia charges https://www.airasia.com/aa/pdf/about-us/wheelchair.pdf
This is unavoidable as long as you allow travel from other societies/cultures. I don’t want to beat the Indian too much here - even if someone marginal thinks they can do without the wheelchair, knowing their neighbour will probably abuse the privilege will make him or her also need...
I’m afraid there’s no way around it. The Air Carrier Access Act needs to be modified to allow charging.
Look at how Airasia charges https://www.airasia.com/aa/pdf/about-us/wheelchair.pdf
This is unavoidable as long as you allow travel from other societies/cultures. I don’t want to beat the Indian too much here - even if someone marginal thinks they can do without the wheelchair, knowing their neighbour will probably abuse the privilege will make him or her also need a wheelchair too, even if it is marginal abuse.
P.S. the Air Carrier Access Act can be amended in a way to allow DoT to set maximum charges that are just nominal and not necessarily full recovery of cost. So, it can be US$10 or US$20 to deter abuse, rather than cost recovery or even profit-generating.
It still isn’t nice, it imposes payments on domestic flyers who haven’t been the source of abuse compare to international travel. But it is a genuine abuse-mitigating measure.
If the Indians are not pulling "Phone Scams", they are pulling the "Wheel Chair" Scams all over the world. Most of the Scammers are so called "Techies" or software programmers, AI Engineers and their Families.
What I have noticed here in Amsterdam is that for most passenger who request wheelchair assistence they actually need it. But then you have the flights from India… the company that provides the wheelchair assistence in Amsterdam have to make a dedicated team so service elsewhere can be provided too. Of course it’s not the most glamarous job in the world esspecially with the smell from the aircraft when it just landed but I think...
What I have noticed here in Amsterdam is that for most passenger who request wheelchair assistence they actually need it. But then you have the flights from India… the company that provides the wheelchair assistence in Amsterdam have to make a dedicated team so service elsewhere can be provided too. Of course it’s not the most glamarous job in the world esspecially with the smell from the aircraft when it just landed but I think it’s a reasonable middle ground they struck. The issue with Indian passengers for me as a flight attendant is the fact that they want to adhere to their culture whilst being outside of their country. That also goes for the use of a wheelchair. For them it’s mostly a status symbol to feel better than people who have to walk of a plane.
If you need it it’s totally fine and I will happily provide you with extra service to make your journey more comfortable. On one type of aircraft I operate on there’s even a wheel chair stowed on board and we can extend the lavatory area so a disabled passenger has more space to move around.
This will be contreversial but is purely an appeal to have self reflection: if you need wheelchair assistence to travel because you might be to old or to scared to travel, should you? I think that is a legimate question to ask oneselves. When a passenger is that old that their psychical health becomes a big question during traveling on long haul flights I believe it’s a valid discussion to be had with relatives. I know there will be readers that completely disagree and I welcome their counter arguments as long as it is respectful.
Completely agree about accepting that one's age-driven infirmity does impose limits on how one should live.
I travel once a year from BLR to SFO / SFO to BLR ( AI-175 / 176 ). Everytime there is a chaos on both ends ( Embarking / Disembarking ). 95% passengers are quite comfortable without wheel chairs. No sooner wheel chairs are taken away at the Aerobridge, all of them stand for long period till they are seated.
I have a few things to say as someone with a mid-level disability, very poor eyesight, that developed suddenly several years ago. I am in my early 60s and have no trouble walking. I can see generally what's going on around me, and I can read large, bright signs. I can read up close and use most smartphone functions with some adaptations. So, my thoughts, based on my own experiences and some of the comments...
I have a few things to say as someone with a mid-level disability, very poor eyesight, that developed suddenly several years ago. I am in my early 60s and have no trouble walking. I can see generally what's going on around me, and I can read large, bright signs. I can read up close and use most smartphone functions with some adaptations. So, my thoughts, based on my own experiences and some of the comments on this topic.
I usually use the wheelchair service when I travel alone, which I do often, all over the world. I do not need it when traveling with a companion; at tiny airports where it's impossible to get lost; or at my home airport, SJC, which has a simple layout that I know intimately.
Where it's available, I prefer a walking escort to a wheelchair. This option is available in most of Europe and maybe elsewhere, but not in the U.S. In effect, my only choice in the U.S. for the assistance I actually need is to request more than I actually need.
I preboard when traveling solo so I have time and space to count the rows to the nearest exit, make sure I can locate the life jacket, and organize my things for access during and after the flight. On Southwest (until there's assigned seating), I preboard and choose a seat immediately in front of or behind the exit row.
The assistance is used largely by people like me who may not go through daily life as an obviously disabled person but need assistance to navigate the airport. It is essential for making transportation available to as many people as possible.
There surely are instances of abusing the service, and people who do that really suck. Do they suck more than the family where one person pays for Earlybird on Southwest and saves seats for the others? But no proposal I've seen to mitigate abuse makes the slightest bit of sense if you take a moment to think it through. Should people like me who may need assistance only at certain points in their journey request assistance at all points so as not to raise ill-informed suspicion?
Assistance may speed your passage but often it slows you down, especially for international arrivals.
I am familiar with the Air India phenomenon. A year or two ago, I arrived at LAX and it took forever to get through Immigration. The reason, according to my attendant: Air India had landed at about the same time. Dozens of Air India passengers were sitting in wheelchairs in a holding area, waiting to be assisted through Immigration and Customs, one or two at a time. Most appeared to be quite elderly and traveling alone or with a spouse. If they were gaining some unfair advantage by using the wheelchair service, I don't know what advantage that would be.
Accessibility services enable countless people to travel. If a healthier traveler is really bothered by the notion that someone may be cheating, I question the maturity and judgment of the person who is bothered.
When did Southwest start flying out of India?
People who need wheel chairs should have to be loaded first and sent to the back of the plane. It is excruciatingly slow to sit even a row behind them as they attempt to deplane.
I flew AI JFK-DEL a few weeks ago and lost count at 65 wheelchairs. It was quite a mix - but many of them were so old and infirm that I was shocked they were flying at all much less boarding a 15 hour flight. Prior to boarding, AI had an entire wheelchair "parking lot" at the gate where they had permanently removed a large section of gate seating.
Interestingly, though they were scanned in...
I flew AI JFK-DEL a few weeks ago and lost count at 65 wheelchairs. It was quite a mix - but many of them were so old and infirm that I was shocked they were flying at all much less boarding a 15 hour flight. Prior to boarding, AI had an entire wheelchair "parking lot" at the gate where they had permanently removed a large section of gate seating.
Interestingly, though they were scanned in prior to boarding the J cabin, all 65+ wheelchairs were simply lined up in the long jetway. None of them actually boarded before we did. I assume they got seated prior to boarding the Y cabin, but they were certainly not first-on as with other airlines.
Well, how about the other major group that fits this description: "You have a lot of elderly travelers coming to visit their children and grandchildren in the United States. They might not be familiar with traveling internationally, they may not speak English, and they may just be scared to navigate airports without assistance." Do we see long lines of wheelchairs on US-China flights?
This is definitely not news. :)
The number of wheelchair requests on flights between Europe/the US and India is quite remarkable. Has anyone noticed that the number of wheelchair requests on domestic flights within India (even on the same airline, Air India) is nowhere near as high as on international flights? Why is that?
It’s not necessarily a case of people gaming the system the way it sometimes happens on Southwest flights in the US. A major reason seems to be...
The number of wheelchair requests on flights between Europe/the US and India is quite remarkable. Has anyone noticed that the number of wheelchair requests on domestic flights within India (even on the same airline, Air India) is nowhere near as high as on international flights? Why is that?
It’s not necessarily a case of people gaming the system the way it sometimes happens on Southwest flights in the US. A major reason seems to be that on international flights, passengers are assisted by a local staff member who escorts them from one gate to another through transit. This makes the service much more convenient and attractive.
The only way to reduce unnecessary wheelchair requests is to provide local navigation assistance—staff who can guide passengers from one gate to another, possibly in groups—so that wheelchairs are used only by those who genuinely need them.
Sorry but there is no nuance - it's absolutely abuse at the national pastime level. I fly Air India more than I'd like to and see this regularly for AI flights connecting throughout SEA.
I was flying on Lufthansa business class with in laws from India who used wheelchair assistance and we had nearly 3 hour layover in Frankfurt before onwards flight to US.
In FRA put us on a series of golf cart rides and other trains in the transfer where including security check we only got to the onwards flight gate with just over an hour before departure (if i was on my own probably wouldve...
I was flying on Lufthansa business class with in laws from India who used wheelchair assistance and we had nearly 3 hour layover in Frankfurt before onwards flight to US.
In FRA put us on a series of golf cart rides and other trains in the transfer where including security check we only got to the onwards flight gate with just over an hour before departure (if i was on my own probably wouldve reached hour earlier). The attendants refused to take them to the Lufthansa senator lounge that was just a few min walk away citing there won't be enough time and doesn't have staffing to pick them up!
The issue is the long walks between terminals in many places (looking at you, CDG). Even relatively easy airports (AMS) can require a decent amount of walking.
Who honestly cares if there are 80 wheelchair passengers? Stay in the lounge and have another drink. Your seat will be there.
AMS has these electric golf carts that can move 4-8 people. Is there a way to opt in to just this? That would solve the wheelchair problem for a lot of people.
But will your overhead bin space be there or are you going to have to gate check you bag?
Ben, you have hit the nail on the head. My sister-in-law, from a south east asian country (not India but close) walks for miles every day to stay healthy, but uses the airport wheelchair on all her travels because she doesn't feel confident enough to find her way around airports. Many airports outside the US provide a meet and assist service, like Al Mahal offered by Qatar airlines. If the US made a doctors note...
Ben, you have hit the nail on the head. My sister-in-law, from a south east asian country (not India but close) walks for miles every day to stay healthy, but uses the airport wheelchair on all her travels because she doesn't feel confident enough to find her way around airports. Many airports outside the US provide a meet and assist service, like Al Mahal offered by Qatar airlines. If the US made a doctors note a requirement for wheelchair, but offered at a reasonable price a meet and assist service for non-disabled passengers who need hand holding, I think the problem would go away. Heck, it is probably worth it for an airline to subsidize such a service.
Charge for it. $50/per passenger would largely cut out much of the abuse. I always wonder how many of the wheelchair pax tip too.
People would pay for it, gladly.
I am a disabled fall-risk who is required by hospitals to be in a wheelchair . Yet in airports I prefer my walker with an attached seat .
My problem is if sometimes a staff member forbids me to take my foldable walker with me on the airplane for storage in a closet .
Passing some kind of law that your disabled and require mobility assistance is the solution. Similar to a Veterans ID perhaps as proof. Combine that with some sort of fine or a warning you have been flagged if you do this again. This is an incredible disservice to those who require assistance.
The problem with that is *proving* your disability to be valid enough to access that care. People with my disability often struggle to even qualify for benefits despite how disabling this condition is, and because of *what* this condition is, we struggle to be believed, because we may look abled and our levels of ability vary tremendously between each individual. I don't trust any service that requires proof of disability to access something like a...
The problem with that is *proving* your disability to be valid enough to access that care. People with my disability often struggle to even qualify for benefits despite how disabling this condition is, and because of *what* this condition is, we struggle to be believed, because we may look abled and our levels of ability vary tremendously between each individual. I don't trust any service that requires proof of disability to access something like a damn wheelchair. It's a gateway for discrimination. Ironic given the entire point of this service is to prevent it. If any law like that passed, I would use my own personal wheelchair 24/7 at airports to the point of being a nuisance myself and request my chair at the gate :) (instead of checking it in).
That's no solution, it's vindictiveness.
Get them onboard early, settled and out of the way of the hordes to follow. Commonsense, yes?
I am 82 and sometimes when I travel with connections in large busy airports, I order a wheelchair because I can not walk fast and if there is a distance, might miss my connection. I think airports should offer wheel chairs for use that one’s traveling companion can push. I noticed there were robotic ones in Tokoyo’s Narita. Also, it is not free because the attendants pushing expect a $10-20 tip.
Indian TA’s will offer a wheelchair request as a ‘perk’ to clients booking with them . Also in India many older persons suffer from Congenital Dislocation of the Hip which was not rectified in their early years and generates a greater morbidity requiring wch in their older years
i worked Lufthansa on lisbon all Pax arrived via Frankfurt in lisbon , from Vancouver 12 WCHR we use ONLY 3 or 4 all the rest Run Pax to bagagem carrossel.... só they dont get Lost in Frankfurt..... they should pay like UM kids a fee
The solution is to give EVERYONE a wheelchair and increase the price of each ticket by $35. Then eliminate preboarding for disabled pax, as everyone is considered disabled.
And everyone gets to be wheeled around the airport like royalty. True Maharaja Class!
A few years back , travelling in the Far East , waiting to board and an American guy in his 50s wheeled up to the gate and taken on board first ( with wife of course ) Turned out he was staying in the same hotel and every night in the club lounge he was always first to sprint to the buffet as soon as the canapes arrived. Must have had a miracle cure in flight
Some people can walk short distances comfortably enough, but have difficulties in a airport , especially new ones, where very long distances are involved, as well as managing their carry-on. Also standing almost still in long lines for check-in, security etc can be a challenge.
i met an able bodied Indian gentleman sitting next to me and i told him 'its a disgrace' that people in india at 60 think they are old and need wheelchair . What a tragedy . his walking was normal as i saw him go to restroom etc
It seems to me that Indians, especially from higher castes, have a hard time coping with being treated like everybody else.
amen to that most semi-older ones get wheelchairs usually as couples
Scams, India, it all fits.
I bet they are all going to see Benny Hinn to get healed. On a serious note I bet flying on any Indian airline must be the stinkiest cabin one could sit in. YUCK!
Don’t travel by Indian carriers and don’t land in any gateway city in India
They don’t expect you they are already
Over populated
The answer is simple. There is a powerchair called the Whil. I beleive they have a version with wayfinding and security (can't leave the airport). Passengers can take themselves to the gate, go shopping or eat without assistance.
Good suggestion but I don't think the passenger profile Ben is writing about would be adept at a. driving a motorized wheelchair and b. navigating to the gate.
I can think of 3 solutions.
1. They board last.
2. If they get on with a wheelchair and disembark without one give them a warning and if they do it again ban them from the airline.
3. Change the law so if they don't enter the airport with a wheelchair or check their wheelchair then require a doctor's note in order to be able to use an airport wheelchair.
Number 1 is enough. Take away the advantage of boarding first and the problem magically goes away. I've seen some genuine disabled people try to board a plane and it's heartbreaking but boarding first wouldn't make a lick of difference. The law doesn't require the people who request wheelchair assistance to board first, nor does it require them to have overhead bin space. Take all that away and the reason to "scam" is gone.
A simple solution is simply, don't allow carry-ons for wheelchair passengers. They must check all bags.
Sure, they get priority boarding, but that means they gotta wait for the rest of the plane to board.
Worst passengers in the world. Period.
Horrible manners & HORRIFIC personal hygiene. The worst of any country. Period.
WCHR requests are considered VIP treatment. And charged to the passenger by their Indian travel agent who keeps the money. I was on a USA3 airline from London to USA. Economy cabin had 47 special meal requests & 46 wheelchair requests. Only two pax on arrival deplaning needed a chair. India flights are continuously the...
Worst passengers in the world. Period.
Horrible manners & HORRIFIC personal hygiene. The worst of any country. Period.
WCHR requests are considered VIP treatment. And charged to the passenger by their Indian travel agent who keeps the money. I was on a USA3 airline from London to USA. Economy cabin had 47 special meal requests & 46 wheelchair requests. Only two pax on arrival deplaning needed a chair. India flights are continuously the most junior trips for USA cabin crews as they avoid them like the plague. And avoid Air India at all cost. Buyer beware.
How do you know who many special meal and wchr requests there were? Especially the former.
Sorry, didn’t know ordering special meals is such a big deal. How dare peasants traveling on economy dare to request a meal they feel comfortable eating.
You are a racist
This is profoundly inappropriate
I observe it is notorious also to destinatios with long migration queues ... even if the processing does not necessarily become quicker, people can at least be seated.
Discouraging people from using wheelchairs without cause could easily be done. Just let them board last, not first.
Seems Air India and Southwest have something in common
I can think of 3 solutions.
1. They board last.
2. If they get on with a wheelchair and disembark without one give them a warning and if they do it again ban them from the airline.
3. Change the law so if they don't enter the airport with a wheelchair or check their wheelchair then require a doctor's note in order to be able to use an airport wheelchair.
Sorry, that was meant to be a comment not a reply to your comment
Its not an effort to scam the priority boarding. But it is so that elderly do not have to walk. As an Indian living in US, I know enough of my friends who do this. Heck, when I didn't know better, I did that for my parents once. My BIL still does it for my and his inlaws.
Personally, this is abuse of the system and I hope airlines/airports find a way to clamp down on it. But then, I guarantee, they'll cry about racism cuz someone tried to stamp out their abuse.
I saw a huge line of Indians still in wheelchairs after deboarding waiting in line to use the one elevator to get to immigration. My take was if they were scamming they would have gotten out of the wheelchairs and just walked.
On flights to/from India, people hire wheelchairs to get their relatives who don't speak much English to their connections correctly as someone literally grabs them and takes them to the gate.
Friend was an FA for emirates and this is rampant around the world.
I saw this post on my social media a day or two ago (translation):
Flight BR 395 from TPE to SGN 7/11 has 80 passengers in wheelchairs. (According to the announcement during boarding)
When the airline announced that whoever could stand up would be given priority to avoid wheelchair traffic jams, more than 90% of those passengers stood up in line and prioritized first. I met a lot of them walking around in the shopping...
I saw this post on my social media a day or two ago (translation):
Flight BR 395 from TPE to SGN 7/11 has 80 passengers in wheelchairs. (According to the announcement during boarding)
When the airline announced that whoever could stand up would be given priority to avoid wheelchair traffic jams, more than 90% of those passengers stood up in line and prioritized first. I met a lot of them walking around in the shopping area while waiting for a connecting flight; there were many people just over 50+.
It’s a miracle!
The whole wheelchair abuse is an entitlement because you are an "elder". It has gotten worse over the years. In my opinion, sure you might get a wheelchair but you should board last, deplane last (and captains/FA have to make that announcement) and no special priority security/immigration queues like they do now.
It is highly inefficient to board them with priority/preboard and often when they deplane they hog the entire jet bridge leaving no...
The whole wheelchair abuse is an entitlement because you are an "elder". It has gotten worse over the years. In my opinion, sure you might get a wheelchair but you should board last, deplane last (and captains/FA have to make that announcement) and no special priority security/immigration queues like they do now.
It is highly inefficient to board them with priority/preboard and often when they deplane they hog the entire jet bridge leaving no room for other pax.
To highlight that this is a very common abuse: once they clear immigration and customs, most assistants leave them and to no one's surprise the person gets up and walks easily.
Gonna be honest I've seen long wheelchair queues before flights and it didn't really bother me. The bigger problem is that airports are prioritizing huge grand open spaces over ease of access and that can be very daunting for elderly people. It's not that they're disabled, but they're not comfortable walking miles from check-in to their gate.
what then is the obligation of the airline to get these passengers off in the case of an emergency? Many times, I have sat in a window seat (even in emergency rows) and a clearly disabled individual is sitting in the aisle....
serious question - maybe then we need handicapped seats on plane like everywhere else?
I think there's a simple solution. Right now, priority boarding incentivizes people to misuse the wheelchair service. We should make a rule: If you board with a wheelchair, you must also deboard last with one. If you don't, you get charged a hefty fee for the service.
The thing about Air India is that a lot of elderly parents fly alone on it to visit their kid(s) in the US. The kids would book a wheel chair to ensure that they don't miss their connecting flights and are able to go through immigration/ customs without getting lost. The airline should offer a reasonably priced meet and greet service at the arrival airport. That should reduce the load.
I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. But the problem is, when you say option A is (any reasonable cost) vs. option B is free, they will choose B. I think adding the meet and greet would need to be combined with amending the law to add a fee to wheelchair service (greater than meet and greet) for all passengers who don’t check in a mobility device (wheelchair, walker, etc.).
It's not going to reduce the load, because who is going to pay for a service they could get for free?
Back in my airline days, we used to call the New York to South Florida the “Miracle Flights”. People who needed a wheelchair to board in New York would practically dance off the plane unassisted in Florida. In 2-3 hours their handicap was cured. It’s was a miracle! Yes, the system is badly abused everywhere.
I don't think that's totally fair. There are legitimate reasons to need a wheelchair in one airport but not another. My grandmother can easily navigate her small airport in Florida, but she gets tired and risks getting lost walking around the giant terminal in Newark.
Just flew into ORD last week on Qatar and saw the exact same thing. Probably 80% of flight was from India. The same people rushing to get off the plane were waiting for wheelchairs. These routes have some of the worst, rude behavior I have ever seen.
Huge line of wheelchairs waiting to board first?
If the gate agent announced over the PA that wheelchairs would be boarding last, and general boarding was now starting, I suspect many of the wheelchair users would jump up and rush to the boarding queue.
Of course, that doesn't work. If a wheelchair passenger has a window seat, all the other seated passengers in that row have to get up to let them be seated. Delaying things.
This goes the opposite way as well. I was recently on a flight where there was an elderly disabled couple sitting in aisle seats across from each other. Any time someone in the middle or window seats showed up, they had to slowly and painfully maneuver enough to let the person by.
If they would have boarded last, they could have avoided the issue. I also tend to see more elderly/disabled passengers in aisles...
This goes the opposite way as well. I was recently on a flight where there was an elderly disabled couple sitting in aisle seats across from each other. Any time someone in the middle or window seats showed up, they had to slowly and painfully maneuver enough to let the person by.
If they would have boarded last, they could have avoided the issue. I also tend to see more elderly/disabled passengers in aisles than windows because of the extra mobility required to get over to the window.
That's not only India. Of course in lesser extend, but this also happens to and from the US. I often fly from Schiphol to the US. When boarding in Amsterdam you rarely see wheelchairs. When we arrive in the US, there are 20 wheelchairs waiting at the gate to pick people up. Probably a combination of lazy and faster immigration.
Lot of the AI pax are blue collar / working class and not so confident in their communication skills with a foreign language. Sometimes their age extremely infrequent fliers top (once in few years especially internationally) so there is apprehension too.
This gives them additional assistance in zooming through a lot of it.
Couple of nanny 'aunties' I know have done this shit.
Not only that one of my Mrs friends suggested her to...
Lot of the AI pax are blue collar / working class and not so confident in their communication skills with a foreign language. Sometimes their age extremely infrequent fliers top (once in few years especially internationally) so there is apprehension too.
This gives them additional assistance in zooming through a lot of it.
Couple of nanny 'aunties' I know have done this shit.
Not only that one of my Mrs friends suggested her to do the same thing when traveling with our toddler.... Of course Mrs ridiculed the idea.
Nonetheless it's a growing comfort among a lot of people
I never had an opinion on any of this until I travelled from JFK to CDG with my 80-year old mother a few years back. The wait to get a chair and an attendant was way too long at JFK, and CDG was a full-blown nightmare. We flew in Delta One, which did not seem to matter at all. If you don't need a wheelchair, please don't ask for one. The people who do need them would really appreciate it.
My mother is 87 years old and can get through JFK by herself walking. Maybe it is that she swims everyday for the past 30 years.
Use it or lose it.
Get your mom to exercise!
We have seen this facility being abused by passengers on Qatar flights to India from the Atlanta airport - I feel that the best way forward is to require each passenger that requests a wheelchair to submit a letter of medical necessity by a health care provider .
Getting a letter of medical necessity would not be the impediment you think it is.
I could get a LMN for a Penile implant.
Wheelchair assistance can also be requested for other reasons besides having trouble walking or of an elderly age. They may have a physical injury. At EVA, there is a whole list beyond just not being able to walk that allow passengers to use wheelchairs such as:
Quoted from EVA’s webpage: ‘ assistance with visual, auditory, cognitive, mental or mobility impairments’.
Air India flights to/from US are often carry many elderly people who are parents of those residing in the US and visiting on tourist visas, many of whom have mobility issues including my own in law parents
Also admittedly some who dont have true mobility issues may also see the wheelchair attendent as a kind of "lawyer" to help answer questions at the immigration booth if own english is less than ideal.
A ton of Indian elders do have walking issues, but they aren't roaming around in wheelchair in their day to day life in India. In my experience, its there's so much walking at airports (especially if there's a transfer). So let's just book a wheelchair.
My MIL has no issues shopping on her feet for 6 hrs, but ask her to walk thru an airport, or go on an easy nature walk, I can't.
Funny you say this. We were at Chennai airport for few hours with my in law parents who had wheelchair assistance first take us to the lounge to wait for flight. FIL decided to look for a pair of socks and walked out of lounge from one corner of the airport to the furthest point looking for it at different shops (At least 20-30 min of walking we did together).
When it was time...
Funny you say this. We were at Chennai airport for few hours with my in law parents who had wheelchair assistance first take us to the lounge to wait for flight. FIL decided to look for a pair of socks and walked out of lounge from one corner of the airport to the furthest point looking for it at different shops (At least 20-30 min of walking we did together).
When it was time to board then suddenly again needed the wheelchair assistance to get to gate literally across a hallway from the lounge (on top of that kind of yelled at the attendant before boarding for not waiting 100% of the time by the lounge for all those hours as if was only assigned to work for these 2 individuals rather than have other assignments in between) :)
I am not surprised. The entitlement of Indian elders is next level.
Is it not up to gate agents to tell the 10 family members that only 1 will be allowed to accompany the wheelchair person?
It is and should be enforced strictly. though I can also see how it can end up being a shouting match with Indian pax
How many of these people are upper-caste women who expect to be waited on for every single thing in their lives, and are shocked and offended when their every little whim isn't provided to them, chop chop? They don't understand that we don't care about their privilege. They only think that we're outside of the caste system and are thus garbage.
gotta admit , when my mother in law in her late 70s who does not speak a word of english coming to states with a transfer , i requested a wheel chair and they takes her all the way out exit area with luggages.
I usually tip them a good amount too.
I'm sure all of that is true except the last part.
I’ve seen the same thing happen in ATL for a QR flight to Doha. Yes, most of the people in those wheelchairs can walk, but they skew on the elderly side. I was still frustrated to see the mayhem these 50+ wheelchairs caused for the boarding process. Yet upon arrival in Doha I did feel some compassion - the distances to walk in that terminal to get to connecting flights were really long and would...
I’ve seen the same thing happen in ATL for a QR flight to Doha. Yes, most of the people in those wheelchairs can walk, but they skew on the elderly side. I was still frustrated to see the mayhem these 50+ wheelchairs caused for the boarding process. Yet upon arrival in Doha I did feel some compassion - the distances to walk in that terminal to get to connecting flights were really long and would have been a challenge for that crowd. So yes, it’s about navigating the overall airport experience and not about an actual disability
Let me be the devils advocate. A lot of very successful Indians across the world in my parents to visit them. These parents are anywhere between their 60s to 90s in age.
And a lot of them could probably walk 300 feet. But they could not walk a mile and a half, which is sometimes required at every airport. Imagine making a connection in Frankfurt from a remote stand for an Asian flight to a...
Let me be the devils advocate. A lot of very successful Indians across the world in my parents to visit them. These parents are anywhere between their 60s to 90s in age.
And a lot of them could probably walk 300 feet. But they could not walk a mile and a half, which is sometimes required at every airport. Imagine making a connection in Frankfurt from a remote stand for an Asian flight to a US bound one.
So unfortunately, these people are not doing this on of them are taking advantage of the system, they are just not able to walk the multiple miles that is required to take flights change flights at the hub and then finally clear the protocol before they can get to meet their loved ones.
There is no way around it. Even the airline charges 25 bucks for 30 bucks. I don't think the numbers change significantly.
Same out of TPE, 25-30 wheelchairs and only 3 waiting on arrival at LAX.
At T2 LHR they do have one approach to atleast reduce the overhead. They tend to categorise the passangers into two groups:
1. Unable to walk long distances
2. Unable to walk short distances
Group 1 are sent around on buggy trains, though are required to walk from the assistance desk to and through security as well as onto the plane. This is done as a group and they'll wait for 6-8 passengers...
At T2 LHR they do have one approach to atleast reduce the overhead. They tend to categorise the passangers into two groups:
1. Unable to walk long distances
2. Unable to walk short distances
Group 1 are sent around on buggy trains, though are required to walk from the assistance desk to and through security as well as onto the plane. This is done as a group and they'll wait for 6-8 passengers at gates near each other to arrive before sending them through. This covers the vast majority of older passangers who might otherwise use it and removes the issue of walking around a large terminal for them.
Group 2 have to be accompanied by an individual assistant as they may not even be able to go through traditional security. They'll usually be brought directly to the gate and then will be taken onto the plane before anyone else (as seen in the twitter post).
I'm sure theres folks put into Group 1 who will fight about needing to be in #2, while on normal day to day life does walk around!
What about people who have no issues with walking short to medium distances, but are unable to stand for very long? I have moderate to severe knee pain (depending on the day), and standing on line for over an hour with only minimal movement is more difficult than walking. Follow that with a long walk to the gate, and I am generally on the verge of collapse by the time I board the plane.
...
What about people who have no issues with walking short to medium distances, but are unable to stand for very long? I have moderate to severe knee pain (depending on the day), and standing on line for over an hour with only minimal movement is more difficult than walking. Follow that with a long walk to the gate, and I am generally on the verge of collapse by the time I board the plane.
I have never ordered a wheelchair, although it would definitely make my travel more comfortable - largely due to the type of comments seen here. I wish there was a lesser type of assistance available to those of us who need help, but don't really need or want a wheelchair.
Anyone flying Air India, raise your hand.
Look at you, trying to appeal to the masses’ conscience by injecting nuance. “Oh, but these people are scared about being in foreign airports” when there are numerous testimonies from gate agents, flight attendants, and Indian nationals themselves who say very plainly: this is an abuse of the system.
And it is not just Indians, let’s be clear. Look at Taipei Taoyuan. This is popular with Vietnamese travellers, too. People who magically regain their ability...
Look at you, trying to appeal to the masses’ conscience by injecting nuance. “Oh, but these people are scared about being in foreign airports” when there are numerous testimonies from gate agents, flight attendants, and Indian nationals themselves who say very plainly: this is an abuse of the system.
And it is not just Indians, let’s be clear. Look at Taipei Taoyuan. This is popular with Vietnamese travellers, too. People who magically regain their ability to walk upon arrival not at their home airport.
Disingenuous use of accessible facilities, needless to say, harm the people who need it most. Because when there’s genuine need, there could be a shortage.
Why isn't this prevalent across Asia where this is a massive elderly population who also flys to see their family? Why do most Asian airlines board planes in record time regardless of what demographic is flying? Stop the cap.
Bro. India is in Asia.
@Derek Definitely. Is Air India considered an Asian airline like Singapore Airlines, Starlux or Air China? Just curious.
The solution is to board them last. Then watch wheelchair requests plummet.
That's no solution, it's vindictiveness.
Get them onboard early, settled and out of the way of the hordes to follow. Commonsense, yes?
"Literally half of the flight needs wheelchairs and the entire family follows the person which gives all of them priority access to immigration, customs and security lines" Simple solution is to restrict the wheel-chair user to just one helper. The rest of the clan can queue up in Group 5 where they belong.
Flying out of India last week (not on Air India though), there were less than 50 of us left when "Priority Boarding" was called for Business Class, Gold, etc.. Nearly 150 passengers had boarded ahead of us due to being loosely associated with a passenger who had requested a wheelchair or who was traveling with children. How 28 WCHR pax translated to 148 people getting priority boarding is a whole other question to be asked....
Flying out of India last week (not on Air India though), there were less than 50 of us left when "Priority Boarding" was called for Business Class, Gold, etc.. Nearly 150 passengers had boarded ahead of us due to being loosely associated with a passenger who had requested a wheelchair or who was traveling with children. How 28 WCHR pax translated to 148 people getting priority boarding is a whole other question to be asked. If priority boarding (free for me as an Elite but offered as a paid service to others) means being number 149 out of 196 to board a plane, that is seriously a question of misrepresentation.
Not sure what airline you flew Sean but that sounds like either Air Canada, BA or an American carrier. But this year I have flown A380 out of BOM with SQ 3 times and in every case, with my Gold status, I was always amongst the first to board and all the flights were almost fully occupied. I think this issue might be limited specific routes and airlines and the boarding procedures they use
Singaporeans are not afraid to call out BS, and have some inbuilt defence against being called racist.
@Sean M. - The new scam in the US used my Americans is now to walk into the plane when the GA asks for anyone that needs extra time boarding to pre-board. It used to be that only people in wheelchair would go at that time but now you simply "feel" you need extra time and nobody asks anything, I started noticing this and sure enough counted 14 people and 16 people on two flights...
@Sean M. - The new scam in the US used my Americans is now to walk into the plane when the GA asks for anyone that needs extra time boarding to pre-board. It used to be that only people in wheelchair would go at that time but now you simply "feel" you need extra time and nobody asks anything, I started noticing this and sure enough counted 14 people and 16 people on two flights last week where people that did not need wheelchair, or were limping or anything weird simply walked and boarded when pre-board was called. They all got to the plane first and accommodated their luggage, no questions asked.
There should just be a $35-$50 fee attached to wheelchair use.
Not everyone who is disabled or people who needs wheelchair assistance needs it by choice so this is discriminatory.
FOFO, for sure.
The video is funny
I've been in airline operations for more than 10 years and the statistics tell the same everywhere: Routes to and from India, including customers connecting to and from India are extreme outliers in terms of wheelchair usage.
Every airline knows it, and it requires very specific handling, additional ground time provisioning, etc. all the time to manage it.
So, yes it is a known fact and it is easy to quantify in many ways. I...
I've been in airline operations for more than 10 years and the statistics tell the same everywhere: Routes to and from India, including customers connecting to and from India are extreme outliers in terms of wheelchair usage.
Every airline knows it, and it requires very specific handling, additional ground time provisioning, etc. all the time to manage it.
So, yes it is a known fact and it is easy to quantify in many ways. I don't want to accuse anyone of abusing the system, and I'm sure there are various legitimate reasons to use the service, and yes, probably the airlines should find creative ways to mitigate the situation by better supporting passengers.
Read many of my past comments about this scam. It is going on for years and I see it at LHR very often. Literally half of the flight needs wheelchairs and the entire family follows the person which gives all of them priority access to immigration, customs and security lines. It is a huge scam and it happens in all flights from India. Surprised you are only reporting this now. It is a way of living for those people.
As someone who has been part of a family that has had to do this I can say with something approaching certainty that for most of the passangers it isn't a "scam". There's two reasons for this:
1. In most cases you are allowed at most 1 person with you on the flight. This can LOOK like a whole family if the group is Grandparent, parent + children but in a group with adults...
As someone who has been part of a family that has had to do this I can say with something approaching certainty that for most of the passangers it isn't a "scam". There's two reasons for this:
1. In most cases you are allowed at most 1 person with you on the flight. This can LOOK like a whole family if the group is Grandparent, parent + children but in a group with adults it will usually only be one person. This is how we would travel when i was younger (Grandma + Mum + 3 children) as my dad worked retail and so wouldn't get time off until after the 25th. The part you seem to have missed is that this isn't an advantage as, unlike with young children, we then have to wait until the entire flight has deplaned to be let off of the areoplane. Once I was an adult I would wait on my own to be the last person on flight and then rush off to be the first off to collect the bags while my Mum, siblings and Grandmother had to wait for the entire plane to empty.
2. You would be shocked around the lack of mobility most of these passangers have. While short journeys are possible, the idea that they have the mobility to do the walk to the B gates at terminal 2 or the C gates at T5 is ridiculous. A lot of the older people travelling spent 30+ years working manual jobs and no longer have fully functioning legs. Unlike white brits of the same socio-economic background they were also more likely to save their money for retirement and now spend some of the year in India, because who really wants to spend January or February in the UK, and actually have the money to do so.
Here is the easy fix. Allow ONE person to follow the one needing a wheelchair. I can guarantee you that it will reduce the need for that service when lots of family members are left behind. Or they will all request wheelchair, who knows? I have seem dozens of people following one wheelchair at LHR. They all get priority. Now, to make things worse, I have seen "grandma" that needs wheelchair suddenly being able to...
Here is the easy fix. Allow ONE person to follow the one needing a wheelchair. I can guarantee you that it will reduce the need for that service when lots of family members are left behind. Or they will all request wheelchair, who knows? I have seem dozens of people following one wheelchair at LHR. They all get priority. Now, to make things worse, I have seen "grandma" that needs wheelchair suddenly being able to walk when it gets outside the airport. I am sorry but the majority is a scam.
Agree with Rain totally. People of a certain age who can seemingly walk fine, very often can only do so for a short distance; some airports require kilometres of walking from roadside to gate so a wheelchair service is their only option. We had to use this service for my mother-in-law when she came from Asia. Her whole life had basically been spent in one small town, so add to her mobility issues, the fact...
Agree with Rain totally. People of a certain age who can seemingly walk fine, very often can only do so for a short distance; some airports require kilometres of walking from roadside to gate so a wheelchair service is their only option. We had to use this service for my mother-in-law when she came from Asia. Her whole life had basically been spent in one small town, so add to her mobility issues, the fact that she had not the slightest idea about airport security, boarding gates, display screens, passport control etc. and the wheelchair support wad invaluable.
Not saying that there aren't some people scamming the system, but please have sympathy for those who really need it. And before you say they should be escorted by someone from their own family, this just isn't practical to travel half way round the world just to travel back again. If it costs $30, I'd be happy to pay that to the airline!
Combination of scammers and people that have led poor lifestyles and therefore at age 50 they have the body of an 85 year old. You should come to PSP. It wasn't that way back in the 1990s.
"Combination of scammers and people that have led poor lifestyles and therefore at age 50 they have the body of an 85 year old."
How do you know all this?
I am shocked that this is a surprise. It is a well-known fact that Indians (ab)use wheelchair service as a free meet-and-greet service for their elderly parents to overcome the language barrier
You can try to be civil about it as much as you want, but India is simply a culture where scamming your way into benefits is a sign of intelligence and competence rather than something shameful. Wheelchair use at airports is just one of many such examples.
100% agree. As someone (?also @VladG) born in the ex-Soviet Union, it was a necessary survival mechanism. I'm ashamed when people from my background do this kind of BS here in the US (cheat SNAP, Medicaid, etc by hiding cash income, pretending to be single when they're de facto married, etc), especially in NYC and Miami. And have zero trouble calling it out.
I used to be one of those people who complained about people abusing wheelchairs. Of course now my husband just had knee surgery and we had a family emergency and had to fly. He was on crutches and everything yet passengers gave us so many glares because we looked too young to need additional time even though we had crutches and a wheelchair.
Meanwhile we had business class seats and in boarding group 1...
I used to be one of those people who complained about people abusing wheelchairs. Of course now my husband just had knee surgery and we had a family emergency and had to fly. He was on crutches and everything yet passengers gave us so many glares because we looked too young to need additional time even though we had crutches and a wheelchair.
Meanwhile we had business class seats and in boarding group 1 so clearly we are not taking advantage. Anyway I have reformed. More important things in life than worrying about a few people taking advantage.
Come on, Ben. I appreciate you trying to give the benefit of the doubt, but 90% of people here be scammin'.
I work for a ground handler contacted by Air India and I can confirm we have an absurd number of wheelchair requests, 70+ pax per flight with wheelchairs booked are not unheard of.
We do try to talk them down to a meet and assist at check-in so they are walked to the gate, often as a group. I am not sure if Air India actively presents this as an option when booking, I...
I work for a ground handler contacted by Air India and I can confirm we have an absurd number of wheelchair requests, 70+ pax per flight with wheelchairs booked are not unheard of.
We do try to talk them down to a meet and assist at check-in so they are walked to the gate, often as a group. I am not sure if Air India actively presents this as an option when booking, I imagine it would make things easier for everyone if that was the case.
Although on the topic of boarding first, at our station pax who need the chair all the way to the aircraft door i.e. they can’t even walk down the bridge, board last. I am not sure if that is the case at Chicago.
I work for a ground handler contacted by Air India and I can confirm we have an absurd number of wheelchair requests, 70+ pax per flight with wheelchairs booked are not unheard of.
We do try to talk them down to a meet and assist at check-in so they are walked to the gate, often as a group. I am not sure if Air India actively presents this as an option when booking, I...
I work for a ground handler contacted by Air India and I can confirm we have an absurd number of wheelchair requests, 70+ pax per flight with wheelchairs booked are not unheard of.
We do try to talk them down to a meet and assist at check-in so they are walked to the gate, often as a group. I am not sure if Air India actively presents this as an option when booking, I imagine it would make things easier for everyone if that was the case.
Although on the topic of boarding first, at our station pax who need the chair all the way to the aircraft door i.e. they can’t even walk down the bridge, board last. I am not sure if that is the case at Chicago.
Aside from India, the Philippines would be next on the list with 28% requesting wheelchairs due to having a high number of elderly passengers. They were actually reassigned to LAXs MSC but were opposed to it due to the wheelchair situation. I'm not sure if that even materialized.
I personally don't like abusing the system and wheelchairs should be only used for people who actually have a disability or are pregnant. I had to...
Aside from India, the Philippines would be next on the list with 28% requesting wheelchairs due to having a high number of elderly passengers. They were actually reassigned to LAXs MSC but were opposed to it due to the wheelchair situation. I'm not sure if that even materialized.
I personally don't like abusing the system and wheelchairs should be only used for people who actually have a disability or are pregnant. I had to discourage my own mother from using a wheelchair as while she has issue with her knees, she's still fully capable of walking unassisted even without a cane.
Long time ago, I flew out of Manila. It felt like half of the passengers were on wheel chair during boarding. But, I saw very few wheelchairs during arrival.