October 22, 2012 - As airline security grows slower and more stringent, more and more travellers are using the wheelchair services provided by airlines to get through lines quicker. JustWalkers’ Bryan Mercer comments on the ethics of the scam and the negative effect it might have on genuine wheelchair users.

The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act, requires the airlines to accommodate disabled travelers, free of charge and they are not required to show proof of disability. “Miracle flights” are the newest phenomenon in aviation. The term was coined by flight attendants working flights in which as many as a dozen passengers required wheelchairs when boarding, but were “miraculously” able to deplane without them.

How can this be? It may have something to do with the fact that the free wheelchair service offered by airlines allows flyers to get through security faster and board first. But after the plane lands, wheelchair users are the last to exit. According to American Airlines attendant Kelly Skyles, “Not only do we serve them beverages and ensure their safety, now we’re healing the sick.”