Attention all wheelchair users and disability advocates: Your voice is needed now more than ever to protect your rights when flying! The Air Carrier Access Act is up for review, and Congress has a limited window to hear from the disability community about the changes needed to ensure equal access to air travel.
Many wheelchair users are sharing their #JustPlaneWrong stories on social media and with their representatives through our ACAA Action Alert. Don’t let your voice go unheard!
Kenny Salvini: Anxiously watching his wheelchair from the window
“While it was encouraging to see that Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was utilizing scissor lifts to load power wheelchairs like mine onto the baggage conveyor, leaving it up to one handler to finagle my 450-plus pounds device into the aircraft is unacceptable,” he says. “This person is being paid to lift a maximum of 50 pounds and is forced to break safety protocol and put themselves at great risk to get my chair up the conveyor.”
View this post on Instagram
Karah Behrend: Have you seen my wheelchair?
“Welcome back to another episode of United [Airlines] loses my chair. I’m still in the plane when everyone else is gone. Why? Because my wheelchair is nowhere to be found,” she says. Karah also commented on the invasive nature of patdowns by TSA agents.
“PRO TIP: If you haven’t done your regular monthly self-breast cancer screening, TSA will gladly help make sure you’re not bringing any unwanted lumps with you to your destination.”
View this post on Instagram
Ali Ingersoll: Always have a backup plan
“TSA destroyed my chair despite my best efforts to build and create a very secure system. Back to the drawing board on creating the best design for transporting power wheelchairs during flight,” says Ali. “Thankfully I think most of the damage is cosmetic and the wheelchair is still driving, but many of my friends are not this fortunate. I did have my manual folding chair with me, which many do not, so at least I had a backup option.”
View this post on Instagram
Feranmi Okanlami: It’s your right to bring your chair onboard
“PSA: for all my wheelchair users out there, while flight attendants will often store their own luggage in these closets, the first priority is, in fact, your wheelchair,” he says. Feranmi demonstrated how he broke down his wheelchair and put it in a designated closet for mobility devices on his recent flight to Washington D.C.
View this post on Instagram
Jennie Berry: We should be able to use the bathroom with dignity
“Life as a disabled person can sometimes be downright degrading and embarrassing and unfortunately, this was one of them times. To be outright told to my face that I should wear a nappy when I don’t need to and that they are happy with that policy, made me feel humiliated,” she says.
View this post on Instagram
Gabrielle ‘GG’ deFiebre: Facing resistance from flight attendants
“The flight attendant said ‘We don’t normally do this, but because it’s not crowded, we will.’ Then, on the flight back, I encountered similar resistance: ‘Chairs are supposed to go underneath the plane, not the cabin,’ ‘We have to see if the plane has a closet and if it does, if the first class passengers want to use it, then you can’t,'” she says.
View this post on Instagram
Sophie Morgan: It’s an international issue
“Today, we launch the ‘Rights On Flights’ campaign aiming to make airline travel more accessible for disabled travellers. First things first, here in the U.K., we are asking the government to give the civil aviation authority the power to impose fines when airlines (and other actors) fail disabled passengers,” says Sophie.
View this post on Instagram
Please spread the word among your networks and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to participate. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment! Together, we can advocate for more inclusive and equitable airlines for all.
Featured illustration by Doug Davis.
Find information and resources for individuals with disabilities to ensure accessible air travel. By joining our Grassroots Advocacy Network, wheelchair users can play an active role in shaping policies that impact their daily lives and help ensure that their voices are heard by those in power.
