Airlines that best serve passengers with limited mobility
Svitlana Hulko // Shutterstock
Airlines that best serve passengers with limited mobility
Back view of an airport male employee transporting a disabled female traveler to a plane
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 13% of U.S. adults have mobility disabilities, including significant trouble walking or climbing stairs. These limitations could require the use of mobility aids, such as wheelchairs or scooters, when traveling through airports or boarding flights.
Airline travel can be a challenging experience even at the best of times. Travelers may face flight delays or cancellations, long airport check-in lines or TSA screening lines, congested terminals, and other issues boarding or deplaning flights. These stressors are compounded for passengers with limited mobility, who have additional needs to ensure a safe and pleasant travel experience.
In 1986, passengers with disabilities gained legal protections against discrimination from airlines with the passage of the Air Carrier Access Act. This act ensures travelers with disabilities have equal access to flights, while also requiring airport facilities and airplanes to provide necessary accommodations and properly trained staff. In particular, the act requires airlines to assist passengers who have mobility impairments with boarding and deplaning, including handling their wheelchairs or scooters.
How well do airlines adhere to these guidelines to serve their passengers with mobility limitations? Bounce collected information from the Air Travel Consumer Reports for the first quarter of 2022 to rank airlines based on how often they mishandle wheelchairs and scooters. Information for this analysis was released by the U.S. Department of Transportation using data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Seventeen airlines were ranked based on the percent of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled. An item is considered mishandled when a customer files a formal complaint after a flight. The total number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled in the first quarter of 2022 was 2,894 out of 195,965, or about 1.5 wheelchairs per 100 boarded. Numbers displayed are rounded to the first decimal point.
Read on to learn which airlines best serve passengers with limited mobility.
ESTAILOVE ST-VAL // Getty Images
#17. JetBlue Airways
A man wearing mask and gloves waits in a wheelchair to board a flight run by JetBlue
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 372 (5.1% of those boarded)
– Total serviced: 7,318
YES Market Media // Shutterstock
#16. Spirit Airlines
Four Spirit Airlines planes in a row
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 132 (4.8%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,724
VTT Studio // Shutterstock
#15. PSA Airlines
Wheelchair at an airline check-in counter
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 49 (2.2%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,262
LJ Jones // Shutterstock
#14. Envoy Air
Envoy ramp workers bringing the aircraft to the gate
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 59 (2.1%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,805
WKanadpon // Shutterstock
#13. American Airlines
Three men check in at the American Airlines customer service counter
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 495 (2.0%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 24,562
nyker // Shutterstock
#12. Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines with aircraft at gate
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 132 (2.0%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 6,643
Bignai // Shutterstock
#11. Hawaiian Airlines
Caretaker pushes an elderly woman on a wheelchair in airport terminal
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 35 (1.5%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,396
Robert Alexander // Getty Images
#10. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines passenger pushed through a terminal
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 588 (1.3%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 44,030
Philip Pilosian // Shutterstock
#9. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-790 aircraft airborne
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 93 (1.3%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 7,088
Austin Deppe // Shutterstock
#8. Republic Airways
An Embraer 190AR of Republic Airways taxiing for departure
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 45 (1.3%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 3,522
NurPhoto // Getty Images
#7. United Airlines
A United Airlines employee transfers wheelchairs
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 303 (1.2%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 25,990
Olena Yakobchuk // Shutterstock
#6. Mesa Airlines
Mature lady on wheelchair waiting in airport hall with airplane in the background
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 23 (1.1%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,078
RandomMoment // Shutterstock
#5. Endeavor Air
Chair seats in an airport waiting area marked for passengers with disabilities
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 39 (1.0%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 3,806
Markus Mainka // Shutterstock
#4. SkyWest Airlines
SkyWest Bombardier CRJ-200 airplane in the sky
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 109 (1.0%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 11,354
Leonard Zhukovsky // Shutterstock
#3. Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines gate inside of Delta Airline Terminal
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 395 (1.0%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 41,393
alexfan32 // Shutterstock
#2. Horizon Air
Chairs reserved for those with disabilities in an airport
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 9 (0.4%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 2,055
Angel DiBilio // Shutterstock
#1. Allegiant Air
Allegiant airplane approaching airport for landing
– Total wheelchairs/scooters mishandled: 16 (0.3%)
– Total wheelchairs serviced: 5,939
This story originally appeared on Bounce and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
