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Accessibility Shouldn’t Be Optional
We recently traveled by plane, and since my husband is a 100 percent disabled American veteran who uses a wheelchair at the airport, we require assistance. Our departure airport was wonderful—respectful, responsive, and expedient. Hats off to them.
Our arrival airport, however, was horrible when it came to handicap services. For thousands of customers, they admittedly have three (yes, three!) people available to assist passengers in wheelchairs. That means no assistance when you arrive at the airport to drop bags off and help the individual who needs the wheelchair.
Because the car must be attended at all times, both occupants can't leave it. So, the person needing the wheelchair must navigate into the airport alone while the other person parks in the regular lot, unloads the bags, brings them to the terminal, returns to the car, and eventually returns the rental car before making their way back to the terminal. Once all the bags are inside and the rental car is returned, the family member must then push the person in the wheelchair through check-in because no assistance is available.
The same issue continued through TSA. All the while, "customer service representatives" told us we couldn't leave our bags unattended but made no effort to assist or find someone who could. We nearly missed our flight because of the lack of support. Shameful.
Customer Service Opportunity
Make sure you have sufficient staff whose primary responsibility is assisting passengers with disabilities or those using wheelchairs. No exceptions. No excuses.
M. S.—Ohio