October 22, 2012 - As airline security grows
slower and more stringent, more and more
travellers are using the wheelchair services
provided by airlines to get through lines
quicker. JustWalkers’ Bryan Mercer comments on
the ethics of the scam and the negative effect
it might have on genuine wheelchair users.
The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act, requires the
airlines to accommodate disabled travelers, free
of charge and they are not required to show
proof of disability. “Miracle flights” are the
newest phenomenon in aviation. The term was
coined by flight attendants working flights in
which as many as a dozen passengers required
wheelchairs when boarding, but were
“miraculously” able to deplane without them.
How can this be? It may have something to do
with the fact that the free wheelchair service
offered by airlines allows flyers to get through
security faster and board first. But after the
plane lands, wheelchair users are the last to
exit. According to American Airlines attendant
Kelly Skyles, “Not only do we serve them
beverages and ensure their safety, now we’re
healing the sick.”
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