Need for Better Air Travel Accessibility Highlighted after Disabled Man Crawls Off Flight
A recent high-profile incident in which a young man with cerebral palsy crawled off of a United Airlines flight is serving as a catalyst in the need for better accessibility measures in air travel for passengers with disabilities.
D'Arcee Neal, a 29-year-old with cerebral palsy, took a five-hour flight from San Francisco to Washington late last month when a mix-up at the gate meant there was no aisle chair - a narrow, specialized wheelchair to assist passengers with disabilities down an airplane aisle.
Since the airplane he was on had no accessible restroom, Neal not only had to make the five-hour flight without restroom access, he also had to wait an additional half-hour for passengers to disembark and an aisle chair to be delivered to the gate. Needing to use the restroom, Neal got out of his seat and crawled up the aisle to the gangway, where a wheelchair was waiting for him. Neal says none of the flight attendants offered to assist him.
"Unfortunately, the airline did not comply with the law, which requires they provide assistance on and off the plane within a reasonable time," said Lee Page, senior associate advocacy director for Paralyzed Veterans of America.
While Neal never contacted United Airlines to report the incident, news reports indicate that a flight attendant later felt sorry about it and reported it to the company. A United representative called Neal the day after the flight to apologize and offered Neal $300 in compensation, which Neal accepted.
Still, communication would have been key in remedying this error or preventing it altogether, Page said. "Better communication with ground crew, flight attendants and the boarding and contract workers would have provided the solution, but the reality is someone who needs assistance is going to be the last one off of the plane no matter what," he said.
This reality poses challenges for disabled passengers facing long flights with no accessible restroom. Since airlines are not required to install accessible lavatories on single-aisle airplanes, either, most lack them.
Page said accessibility in air travel, even now - nearly 30 years since passage of the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) - remains a challenge. "On my last flight, I had to sit in the bulkhead seat, which is the only place where the aisle armrest does not lift up," he said. "The assistance of the aisle chair transfer was tight, and that's because the aisle has become so narrow."
Heather Ansley, associate general counsel for corporate and government relations for Paralyzed Veterans of America, emphasized that unfortunately Neal's experience is just one of many pointing to the need for better accessibility in air travel.
"It's also a reminder to clarify that air travel is governed by the ACAA, not the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act]," she said. "That's a common misconception."
In the meantime, it's important for passengers with disabilities to educate themselves on their rights and how to file a complaint. Those resources can be found on Paralyzed Veterans of America's website at this link, or on the Department of Transportation website here, Ansley said.
"Neal's case brought to light the challenges passengers with disabilities face when flying," Page said. "This went viral because people in the general population don't understand these challenges."
Brittany Ballenstedt is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in several publications, including Government Executive, National Journal, Technology Daily and NextGov.com