If you’re a wheelchair user who’s planning to travel by air this holiday season, it’s unlikely that you’re looking forward to the transportation portion of your trip. There are many reasons for this.
According to Easterseals President and CEO Kendra Davenport, “air travel continues to be an unachievable dream for people with disabilities who cannot fly and a horrific nightmare for those who can.”
That’s why the 100-plus year-old nonprofit organization is “calling on the United States government, airports, the airline industry, airplane manufacturers, and disability advocates to come together and build an air travel system that is accessible to everyone by no later than 2026.”
That’s a lofty goal, but Easterseals believes it’s possible.
Here are some of the changes that need to be made in order to meet Easterseals’ goal.
1. Check-in needs to be streamlined for people with mobility challenges. Presently, disabled travelers frequently wait for long periods of time before receiving help with the check-in process.
2. Airport-issued wheelchairs need to be available when disabled passengers arrive at the terminal. They should not have to wait for long periods of time when they need to make their planes. The chairs should also be redesigned so that they are more comfortable, less prone to tipping over and can accommodate travelers of all sizes.
3. TSA screeners need training so they know how to meet the needs of disabled passengers. Screeners without such training may cause undue wait times, humiliation and even injury.
4. Airline personnel must be trained in the correct way to transfer wheelchair users to their seats without endangering their safety or peace of mind.
5. Airplanes should be outfitted with accessible restrooms. This change is already in the works though it may take some years before all planes include accessible restrooms.
6. Airplane “infotainment centers” should be modified so that individuals with motor limitations that inhibit the use of remotes or touchscreens can use them.
7. Perhaps most importantly, airlines need to take much better care of passengers’ wheelchairs. Statistics show that 31 wheelchairs are damaged by airline personnel every single day. According to Easterseals, 11,000 wheelchairs were damaged in 2022. Imagine! Arriving at your destination only to find that you have no way of getting around! This is truly a catastrophe.
Easterseals is publicizing its air travel campaign through the use of public service announcements that will run on United States cable television stations for two months during the busy holiday season.
The organization points out that “fully accessible air travel would benefit us all, not just the 61 million Americans with disabilities. Consumers with disabilities and their families activate more than $22 billion in buying power and have $490 billion in disposable income. More accessible leisure and business travel would mean more passengers for airlines, more planes sold by airplane manufacturers, as well as more jobs and opportunities for everyone. Not to mention the benefits to society of having a more inclusive world in which people with disabilities can fully participate.”
