20 Passengers Use Wheelchairs To Board Early On Southwest, Then Walk Off The Aircraft Fine On Arrival

Written by Gary Leff, View From The Wing; Reprinted on Accessible Travel Network, on June 26, 2023

From Kristy Durso:

Let’s talk about INVISIBLE DISABILITIES!

Is it FRAUD to use a wheelchair to get ON a plane, but not to get off?

There are definitely those who game the system, but it’s really important not to judge others by appearances. My daughter is one of these people, as was I before I became a full time wheelchair user.

With certain heart conditions, standing still, especially in areas where there is poor air circulation, can cause a person to pass out. This can be avoided by using a wheelchair to get through security, and by utilizing preboarding. However, usually the deplaning after moves much faster, so a chair is not needed to get off.

It’s really hard, when going through a crowded parking garage when every accessible spot is taken or when boarding a flight with tons of people using preboarding, to not judge people who outwardly look healthy. Even having been a person with an invisible disability, I still struggle with it.

If we consider the numbers, somewhere between 19-26% of the population has a diagnosed disability. While not all of those need a wheelchair, I do think that far less than that number take advantage of disability services.

20 Passengers Use Wheelchairs To Board Early On Southwest, Then Walk Off The Aircraft Fine On Arrival

If you need assistance contact your airline in advance and they’ll arrange for a wheelchair. There’s officially no cost for the service although in most U.S. airports the people pushing make much of their money on tips. It’s never clear the right amount to tip. Some feel $5 is appropriate, others tip $20. There’s no medical verification needed to request this. And some people ask for the service who don’t, strictly speak, ‘need it’.

When a flight has numerous passengers with wheelchair assistance on boarding, and then most of those passengers get off themselves and walk out of the terminal – walking right past the waiting wheelchairs on the jet bridge – it’s known as a “miracle flight.” Here’s one recent Southwest Airlines flight where 20 passengers used wheelchairs to board, and only 3 used them to get off. 17 passengers experienced an inflight miracle.

Let’s be clear: there are certainly cases where someone might need assistance on boarding and not deplaning. But that’s also highly unlikely to be the case for 17 passengers (85% of those needing wheelchair assistance) here.

In addition to the medicinal benefits of flying that cures these passengers, explanations may include a desire for:

• Access to overhead bin space. If you’ve got a late boarding group there may not be overhead bin space. But board with a wheelchair and you go on early, bin space is yours.
• Free carry on with a basic economy fare on United. If you need priority boarding assistance you aren’t in the last boarding group, and the full-sized carry on ban on the cheapest tickets is enforced by boarding group.
• Priority check-in and security. But if you’re savvy enough to ask for a wheelchair you are savvy enough to get PreCheck and check-in online and do bag drop.

Since the biggest benefit – seat selection, in addition to airport priority – comes when flying Southwest, it’s little surprise this is noted most in social media with Southwest flights.

The reason this concerns me is that people asking for wheelchair assistance who do not need it prevents or delays people who do need assistance from getting it. If everyone at the gate showed up needing early boarding it would defeat the purpose of early boarding (‘if everyone gets early boarding then no one does’).