Wheelchairs on airplanes: new designs to solve an old problem

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS ON FLIGHTS? Currently, while hotels, cruise ships and airports must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards,

airlines are exempt from most requirements. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation created the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, which mandates only limited

accommodations, such as airline-supplied in-flight wheelchairs and an ADA-compliant lavatory for multi-aisle aircraft. This means that many wheelchair users have to abandon their chair

before boarding the plane. Many passengers who use wheelchairs avoid the challenging and potentially humiliating experience of trying to use an airplane lavatory. “I go to the bathroom as

close to boarding time as I can, and reduce my fluid intake on longer flights,” says Chilutti. “I used to be able to transfer into the onboard aisle chair to use the lavatory on long-haul

flights,” says Longmire, “but it’s getting more physically dangerous for me to do it, so I just starve and dehydrate myself.” She stops eating about 12 hours before a flight and

“dramatically reduces” her liquids.  Clearly, the airline wheelchair experience needs to be improved. “I understand firsthand how deeply frustrating it is that our aviation system still

fails to make sure every passenger with a disability is treated with dignity and respect,” Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D), who lost both her legs in combat in Iraq, says in a statement to

AARP.  As a final indignity, many passengers with disabilities find that their checked wheelchairs have been mishandled — even Duckworth, who says her “wheelchair is regularly broken or

damaged by airlines.” Of the 11,389 wheelchairs and scooters the Department of Transportation reported “mishandled” by U.S. airlines in 2022, airlines do not share how many were lost or

destroyed. Duckworth, with the bipartisan partnership of South Dakota Sen. John Thune (R), recently introduced the Mobility Aids on Board Improve Lives and Empower All (MOBILE) Act mandating

airlines report additional data, such as evaluating the frequency and type of damage to devices and the dimensions of the cargo hold, and provide more support to passengers with

disabilities. WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG TO DEVELOP A WHEELCHAIR SOLUTION? Buses, trains and cruise ships have integrated systems to load and secure wheelchairs, so why haven’t airlines come

up with similar solutions?