The Don'ts of Air Travel for Wheelchair Users

Hey there fellow travelers. Our friend Joe Kleiner was nice enough to help us come up with five don'ts of air travel for travelers with wheelchairs. A special thank you to Joe for helping us out, and for Sara who sent in her question. Joe has traveled around the US, Europe, and Central America and has a passion for travel and photography.

#travel #wheelchairtravel #handicappedtravels

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[tessakayleen]

As a disabled person who travels often, I’m really glad you decided to bring this up on your channel. I have Spina Bifida and use a wheelchair too which definitely requires a little extra planning, and specifically being in flight can be quite a task in itself due to the lack of accessibility. Thank you for sharing a wheelchair-users perspective.

[dajaviews]

I'm a flight attendant. The average wash room is small but on some of the bigger airplanes we can remove a wall to make it accessible. Don't be shy to ask us.

[psleep]

As a disabled person who travels with my disabled mother; Amen to all. I think the most important thing is to be assertive about your needs, be flexible but stick to your guns. When I first started traveling with my mom I was embarrassed to stick to my guns about our needs. After being physically pulled AWAY from my mom and told I couldn’t board with her (she has dementia and is physically disabled) I don’t back down. Not in an aggressive way but in an assertive manner. TY TY TY for covering this!!! You could do an entire segment on traveling tips for disabled individuals. Everything I learned was the hard way with a lot of upset and tears. After 10 years I’m a pro but every once and a while I encounter a problem we’ve never dealt with. Fortunately most people are kind and patient. Ty again. 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️❤️❤️

[wldflwr]

Thank you so much for this! I travel in a wheelchair and it's definitely different.
I would say, absolutely check in at the counter, and get a tag for your chair. They always ask at the gate if you're capable of getting to your seat from the plane door. If you can, they will usually store the wheelchair in the hold and it will be waiting at the plane door when you step out.
You can request FREE service, with their wheelchairs and a staff member to push you to where you need to go, but a tip is a nice way to say thank you.
The Global Entry program costs $100 for 5 years (last I checked) and gets you through security and customs much more easily. Don't bother to use the kiosk for customs. It wants to take your picture but it's too high for someone sitting in a wheelchair. You will inevitably be asked to get in line anyway.

[jenniferbenzie]

Thanks for this vid Mark, my husband has MS but isn't in a wheelchair yet, he struggles to get around but its so nice to see on the video at 58-1:09 it IS possible for people with limited mobility

[Potomacstud]

This is so helpful not only for folks with disabiilities but everyone who is agin or injured that needs to travel in a wheelchair

[ahmd]

I traveled few times with my mother who use a wheelchair, just because she is a senior person with leg and back pain and weaknesses so she can't walk more than 50 meters. we always contact the airline beforehand and they would provide a wheelchair and a staff from the check in desk all the way to baggage collection and taxi/car rental point at arrival terminal. The wheel chair and staff service is free, a tip is appreciated. This is a standard procedure and provided by all international airports. We put our wheelchair with the lagguage

[anthonykoeslag]

Thanks for doing this!
Wow, so often our needs are not covered by travel YT channels.
This is really helpful

[etherdog]

Thank you, Joe, for sharing your tips. It would also be good to know your do and don'ts when a non-wheel chair bound person meets someone who is, and how to navigate that space respectfully. We have got to look out for each other, now more than ever.

[LetswalkaroundGothenburg]

That's really nice! This is fantastic! Great share!🤩🤩🤩 Thanks my dear friend

[keeptrying]

Really good video for all of us, in different ways. This guy is great. Thanks for this.

[adriannaconnor]

Just so people know, larger airplanes (76 seats and bigger) may have a wheelchair you can use while inside the plane. It is meant to fit down the aisle. I don't know how you would go about using the toilet, but you would be able to get from your seat to the bathroom.

[kimm]

This is awesome! Thanks for being inclusive!

[creightonrochlin]

U can do TSA precheck to get past the security lines as well which helps

[lincolnmicahfox]

Hi Mark (John from Melbourne) some more "do'es" Joe, take some basic repair tools for the chair and know how to fix it, I needed some on-the-go repairs in Liverpool, also bike shops are often helpful. Going long periods without fluids for me is not a good plan, I request a seat close to the toilets on long haul flights and carry a small toilet bag in carry on. Do research prior to leaving on how accessible the place your going to is, the sidewalks, gutters, access into buildings, the hotel room etc help may not always be available, be adaptable, plans have to change, sometimes on the day!

[frednich]

What a great topic! Never thought about any of that before, but I feel educated.

[evelyngrammar]

Great tips; however, I would never pack a camera in a checked bag.

[CapitanoA]

As a former Arline gate representative i couldn't agree more with the part of voincing all of your concerns.

[morrisyarnell]

I am ambulatory for small distances. I require a chair to travel in airports as distances between check in and the gate can be excessive. My wife arranges for a chair to be available at our destinations but sometimes there can be communication issues especially in Europe. Mostly the amount of chair time is just from plane to cab. On our most recent trip I was astonished at the amount of travelers needing assistance. Coming into DC from Frankfort there were 8 of us needing help and the airport staff were most kind in helping us, without them I would not have been able to navigate the long distances and TSA for the most part were helpful but I feel there needs to be a lot more training in assisting non-amblitory individuals. We are real people and not like the average traveler.

[mortpes]

Thank you. I have used a walker over the last two years and now must use a wheel chair. Any tips are appreciated.