Flying with a wheelchair can be no
problem. If the ground crews are
responsive and efficient, the equipment works, and nothing gets damaged or
lost, then flying with a wheelchair is similar to the typical cattle-car
experience known as flying today.
If, however, something goes wrong – especially the loss or damage of
what amounts to an extension of your legs—it can be an unforgettable and
unforgivable nightmare.
You can find blogs about flying with
a wheelchair all over the internet.
I wanted to add my voice to the information feed, but I felt that in
order to differentiate my post, I should compile the most comprehensive list of
advice out there, so that an information-seeker need not look further to feel
prepared. Well, that was my
problem with grad school, as well.
I would spend so long gathering information, trying to be as complete as
possible, that I would only reluctantly and much belatedly get started on the
research itself.
I recently flew with my husband, Ted,
from our home in Seattle, WA to Monterey, CA for a long weekend. I decided to use this experience as a
jolt to my preparation penchant and to finally write something. So, no, this is not a complete list,
and yes, someone serious about flying with a wheelchair should gather additional
advice before embarking. However, this is my meager contribution to a small but
important field. And now it’s out
there.
1. Plan ahead and early
I like to plan; it’s ingrained in my
personality, and it makes me happy.
However, I am married to someone who doesn’t believe in planning. He is able to use a “Field of Dreams”
sort of Jedi mind trick: If you want it, we can make it happen. Granted, sometimes it works, and the
results are all the more gratifying, because you haven’t wasted your time
sweating the details. Sometimes,
however, the results are disastrous, and you end up not being able to go to the
bathroom for twelve hours. Life
with a wheelchair, unfortunately, demands planning in advance – especially when
travelling solo. Flying with a
wheelchair, in itself, does not require advance planning, but seat selection
does. If you have seating
requirements (location, not in a bulkhead row, arm rest that moves), it is
important to book as far ahead of time as possible to ensure that you get your
choice of seat location. Caveats:
bulkhead seats aren’t usually given out until passengers arrive at the airport,
and desk agents often don’t know which seats have movable armrests or even
where the lavatories are.
2. Arrive at the airport early
Are you sensing an “early”
theme? Even after multiple years
of using a wheelchair, I am still guilty of never believing that things will
take as long as they do. They
do. I strongly advise wheelchair
travelers to check in at least two hours early for domestic flights, because of
the possibility of waiting in lines, trying to sort things out with clueless
agents, and going through security, along with the necessity of being at the
gate at least 45 minutes before departure time (you will be the first to board). You may not need this much time; then
again, you may get the TSA agent who is intent on doing everything possible to
protect the airlines from dangerous wheelchair-driving passengers.
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| Aisle Chair |
3. Tell an agent ASAP that you will need an aisle chair for boarding
Sometimes they already have your
information and requirements in the computer. Sometimes they are organized and prepared. But sometimes at least one of these
things is not true. Given that, I
try to flag an agent as soon as I can to let them know that I’ll be needing an
aisle chair, giving them time to find and request one before boarding begins. Some airlines prohibit passengers
flying with wheelchairs from checking in at the kiosks, in which case you’ll
meet with an agent at the check-in desk directly, but you’ll probably have to
ask to figure out which line to use (hopefully they will direct you to the
premiere/VIP line). Some airlines
have all passengers (even those with wheelchairs) check in at the kiosks, in
which case you’ll have to hunt down an agent, who may or may not care (in the
latter case, that means you’ll first tell the gate agent at the departure gate).
4. Take as few suitcases as possible
Remember that you have to carry what
you bring. Even if you check
baggage, you have to carry it to the departure check-in desk and from the
baggage claim. For some reason,
many airports seem to have uphill ramps to get outside, adding an additional
degree of difficulty. When
travelling by myself, I like to check as much of my luggage as possible, so I
don’t have to carry it (don’t forget to make use of the curbside luggage check,
when possible). The downside, though, since you are invariably the last one off
of the plane, is that you will be so late in getting to baggage claim that you
will have to go on a search for your luggage. Travelling with someone is much easier; that person can
carry all sorts of luggage – or better yet, they can load you with luggage on
your lap so that you can’t see, and then they can blindly push you through the
crowded airport. Smaller bags can
sit on your lap. If you must carry
a rolling suitcase, there are suitcases made especially to attach to
wheelchairs. Or you can just use a
carabineer to attach the suitcase behind your chair and hope that it doesn’t
twist around too much. Also, remember
that medically-necessary items travel for free (but you should remember to
bring your prescriptions).
5. Security might not be as bad as you fear: You might get to bypass the long waiting line in favor of the
expedited VIP line (ask), you don’t have to take off your shoes to go through
security if you can’t (or if it’s too difficult), you don’t have to go through
those new full-body scanners, and you get a full-body massage (the manual
pat-down).
6. As soon as your things get on the conveyor belt to go through
the scanner, wheel in front of the gate that bypasses the full-body
scanner. Make sure one of the
harried TSA agents knows you are there and waiting and calls for a “(Fe)Male
Assist!) Do not wait until everyone ahead of you in line has gone through
the scanners to do this. You may
feel like you are cutting in line; this is not true – you are not in their
line; you are just crossing over to yours. This is the weakest link in the TSA process, since you have
to wait for a free assistant of the appropriate gender to come and let you
through the gate and conduct the scan.
The sooner you can start the process, the better.
7. Make sure you designate a person to be responsible for your
things as they come out of screening. Many times a TSA agent will ask;
sometimes they forget. If you
don’t have a travel companion to take responsibility, make sure you remind your
TSA screener to do so. Your
screened items will invariably finish screening long before you do.
8. Be prepared for screening to take a long time and be unpleasant,
and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Everyone who cannot walk unassisted (without holding onto
something) must submit to a manual screening, the pat-down. After waiting for a gender-appropriate screener, you will
be taken to a quieter spot in the midst of the turmoil for your screening. Remember that you have a right to ask
for a private screening. Personally, I have never asked for a private
screening, because I can’t even imagine how much longer it would take and
because I figure that the number of people who find it titillating to watch a
middle-aged woman get a pat-down compared to the number of people in a hurry to
catch their plane put the odds in my favor. If all goes smoothly, you may even beat your travel
companions through security; you may also get a screening agent who training
someone, is new, or is maddeningly thorough. After screening you, the agent will test the wheelchair, by
wiping some paper on various points on the chair and sticking the paper in a
mysterious machine. If you haven’t
removed your shoes, the agent will probably clean your soles with this magical
paper as well. Final warning: if
you have been spending time on manicured grass, it’s possible that the mystical
machine will not like the results; I am guessing that it’s because
well-manicured grass demands fertilizer, which contains nitrogen, which is also
used in making bombs. This can
cause anxiety, the need for multiple supervisors, and lots of wasted time.
9. Don’t forget to ask
at the gate to get a gate-check claim ticket.
Since your wheelchair will be
gate-checked, you should ask at the gate (where you board) for a gate-check
claim ticket. You will need to
answer questions about the presence and type of battery (most of them are
dry-cell) and the weight of the wheelchair. This is a good time to double-check that an aisle chair has
been ordered and will be there for you.
10. Different crews and planes allow different boarding methods
Usually you take your own wheelchair
down the gateway to just outside of the entrance to the plane, where you
transfer to an aisle chair, and then the staff wheel you onto the plane and to
your seat. Sometimes you transfer
to an aisle chair at the gate, and then the staff wheel you to the plane and
then to your seat. Sometimes, if
you ask, you can roll your own chair to the bulkhead seats (assuming you are
sitting there), without transferring to an aisle chair at all.
11. Bring a large bag and put all of your removable wheelchair
parts in it before boarding the plane.
I always travel with a canvas bag
large enough to fit all of the detachable wheelchair parts. At the entrance to the plane, while I
transfer to an aisle chair, Ted transfers all detachable parts (foot plates,
seat cushion, and seat back from my manual chair) from my chair into my canvas
bag, which we carry on in addition to our two bags.
12. Give the ground crew specific instructions about how to move
and store your wheelchair (every chair is different, as is the level of
knowledge of every crew member)
My manual chair is folding, so we
simply demonstrate how to collapse it.
I take the key for my battery-powered travel scooter, so we show them
how to flip the lever to manually push the scooter, how to lower the handle
bars, and how to disengage the battery.
The Freedom Chair is too wide to fit through the door from the jetway
down to the tarmac, so we instruct the crew in how to remove the wheels (it fits
then).
Keep in mind, however, that just
because you inform the departure ground crew, the arrival airport crew may have
absolutely no idea how to operate the chair. You could ask the departure crew to call the arrival crew
and let them know the important information (how the wheels detach, for example). They may do so; or may not! Travelling with an able-bodied person
and sitting near the front may help solve such a problem, because that person
can exit the plane at the beginning of the line and wait outside the plane door
to instruct the ground crew.
13. Passengers needing assistance are the first ones on and last
ones off the plane. This lateness
can be a problem for retrieving luggage at the baggage claim and the gate.
Usually, Ted disembarks with the rest
of the passengers and waits by the plane entrance, so he can offer advice to
the ground crew in charge of the wheelchair and make sure that nobody takes the
wheelchair. (Really! It happened twice: When Ted and I
finally got off of the plane, my wheelchair was not there. Both times, we finally found it in the
parking lot, leading me to believe that someone mistook it for an airport
wheelchair – even though I had removed the foot plates, seat cushion, and the
back! Next time I’m going to spray
paint my name and a skull and cross bones on the seat sling). The other option is for the able-bodied
person to exit early, have a chat with the ground crew (advice about the
wheelchair and making sure they save it for me), then going off to baggage
claim to claim the bags before it’s too late. Of course, these strategies work much better if you’re near
the front of the plane.
Final Advice: Travel with a Rock Star
I read in someone else’s blog that an
important key to travelling with a wheelchair is to travel with a rock-star
support person/travel companion. I realize that that isn’t possible for
everyone at all times, but I admit that it is my most important piece of advice
as well. I have been able to do
and see so much more just by travelling with an able-bodied person who thinks
creatively and is willing to help.
At the most practical level while flying, it helps to have another
person monitor, collect, and/or carry your luggage and make sure nobody takes
your chair.
There are horror stories about flying
with a wheelchair; there are also great experiences. Make sure you allot more time than you’d ever think
necessary, and don’t assume that anyone knows anything about your chair. Remember that most airplanes are not
covered by the ADA. In 1986,
Congress passed the Air Carrier Access Act, mandating the Department of
Transportation to develop new regulations ensuring that passengers with
disabilities would not face discrimination. These regulations were published in 1990, and a summary can
be viewed online at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities
Additional sites with advice about
flying with wheelchairs (not an endorsement; just some links):
Happy Skies!
I spent my first six summers at a wilderness camp in Northern
Minnesota, where canoes, tents, and campfires became a part of my growing
self. I then spent many a weekend
in a tent with my family, car-camping in the woods of Northern Wisconsin. As an adult, I spent a lot of time
backpacking on the West Coast and abroad, camping in the backcountry, trying to
thwart thieving bears, jumping in ice-cold lakes, eating rice and beans, and
trying to stay warm or cool enough. 
Our “brilliant” solution – which turned out to be not very
brilliant or novel, since the internet already had a name for it, and it is
well-known among the RV crowd and campground hosts – was a bedside commode in a privacy tent. The bedside commode was just a generic
one, with strong attached bars, used by elderly and disabled people at home and
sold online with bags and desiccators that can be thrown in the garbage. The tent in which it was housed is
called a privacy tent – also sold online, and advertised as a place to change
clothes, take a shower, or use a toilet while camping. It is just big enough
for the commode and a wheelchair.
It is easy to set up, so it is a great solution for long road trips with
good pull-off opportunities.
In order to fit all of these new toys, as well as my
wheelchair and our other camping supplies, we bought a cargo box for the top of
the car. 
