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Airlines That Best Serve Disabled Passengers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 13 percent of individuals in the United States have mobility problems. These limitations might include substantial difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Because of these restrictions, passengers may need the use of mobility aids such as wheelchairs or scooters in order to navigate airports and board airplanes.

Even under ideal circumstances, flying in an airplane may be an ordeal fraught with difficulties. When boarding or deplaning airplanes, passengers could experience challenges such as flight delays or cancellations, lengthy queues at airport check-in counters or TSA screening lanes, terminal congestion, and other problems. These stressors are made much more difficult for those who have restricted mobility since these individuals have additional requirements to meet in order to ensure that their journey is both safe and pleasurable.

As a result of the passing of the Air Carrier Access Act in 1986, travelers with disabilities are now afforded legal protection against discrimination on the part of airlines. This legislation assures that passengers with disabilities have equal access to flights and also mandates that airports, aircraft, and other transportation facilities offer the required accommodations and have personnel that has received the appropriate training. In particular, the legislation stipulates that airlines are obligated to assist passengers with mobility issues in boarding and disembarking aircraft, including assisting passengers with their wheelchairs or scooters.

To what extent do airlines adhere to these standards in order to better assist their customers who may have mobility restrictions? According to the Air Travel Consumer Reports for the first quarter of 2022, airlines will be ranked according on the frequency with which they lose or damage wheelchairs and scooters. The information that was utilized for this study was made public by the United States Department of Transportation, and it was obtained from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The percentage of wheelchairs and scooters that were damaged during transport was used to rate seventeen different airlines. When a consumer makes a formal complaint about an item after a flight, that item is regarded to have been mishandled. In the first three months of 2022, there were a total of 2,894 wheelchairs and scooters that were mishandled, which is equivalent to about 1.5 wheelchairs for every 100 passengers that boarded the aircraft. All of the shown numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Continue reading to find out which airlines provide the greatest service for travelers with mobility restrictions.

The airline JetBlue
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were not handled properly was 372 (5.1% of those who boarded).
7,318 customers were served in total.

Spirit Airlines
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were mishandled was 132 (or 4.8%).
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 2,724.

PSA Airlines
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 49 (2.2%).
The total amount of wheelchairs that have been serviced is 2,262.

Envoy Air, Inc.
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 59 (2.1%)
There are a total of 2,805 wheelchairs that have been serviced.

The American airline company
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 495 (2%).
The total amount of wheelchairs that have been serviced is 24,562.

Frontier Airlines
The total number of improperly handled wheelchairs and scooters was 132 (2%)
In all, 6,643 wheelchairs were repaired and maintained.

The first Hawaiian Airlines
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 35 (1.5%).
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 2,396.

The airline known as Southwest
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were improperly handled was 588 (1.3%).
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 44,030.

Alaska Airlines
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 93 (1.3%).
7,088 wheelchairs in total have been serviced.

Republic Aviation Company
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 45 (1.3%).
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 3,522.

The airline called United
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were improperly handled was 303 (1.2%).
Number of wheelchairs in total that have been serviced: 25,990

Mesa Airlines
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 23 (1.1%).
Total number of wheelchairs serviced: 2,078

Endeavor Air
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 39 (1.0%).
3,806 wheelchairs in total have been repaired.

Horizon Air
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were handled improperly was 9 (0.4%).
2,055 wheelchairs in total have been serviced.

SkyWest Airlines
The total number of improperly handled wheelchairs and scooters was 109 (1%)
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 11,354.

Delta Air Lines
The total number of wheelchairs and scooters that were improperly handled was 395 (1%)
The total number of wheelchairs that were serviced was 41,393.

Allegiant Air
The total number of improperly managed wheelchairs and scooters was 16 (0.3%).
5,939 wheelchairs in total have been repaired.

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