Frontier Airlines passengers are abusing the corporate’s wheelchair service to skip the road and secure priority boarding on their flights, the budget airline claims.
“There is very large, rampant abuse of special services. There are people using wheelchair assistance who don’t need it in any respect,” CEO Barry Biffle said at a luncheon on the Wings Club in Latest York on Thursday, in keeping with CNBC.
Frontier seating relies on a first-come-first-serve basis and those that request wheelchair assistance board the plane before other flyers.
Biffle says he has personally seen 20 people board a flight in a wheelchair but only 3 requested the assisted service when disembarking.
“We’re healing so many individuals,” he jokingly said.
The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 prohibits airlines from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and requires the businesses to offer “secure carriage” including wheelchairs for the passengers to board the aircraft.
The corporate’s website says it’s “blissful to offer services to our passengers who require wheelchair or mobility assistance” but Biffle is frustrated with the people who find themselves making the most of the services in place to assist those that need them.
It costs the airline $30 to $35 for a customer to request wheelchair assistance, and the abuse can result in delays for other travelers, Biffle claims.
“Everyone needs to be entitled to it who needs it, but you park in a handicapped space they are going to tow your automobile and tremendous you,” Biffle told CNBC. “There needs to be the identical penalty for abusing these services.”
Issues can extend beyond the boarding gate as security gates and other airport services
“There’s widespread abuse amongst passengers using wheelchair services to maneuver to the front of security lines and procure priority boarding on flights,” the carrier told FOX Business, adding that “the TSA and airlines are in a difficult position with regards to managing the difficulty.”
Shady passengers faking injuries and disabilities to skip the road has also impacted other carriers, reminiscent of Southwest Airlines.
Last yr, a Southwest Airlines passenger took to social media to complain in regards to the “pre-boarding scam” he saw as nearly two dozen people lined up in wheelchairs waiting to board a flight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“20 passengers boarding using a wheelchair and possibly only 3 need one to deplane,” the flyer named Paul wrote on X.
Southwest doesn’t assign seats, just like Frontier, which results in preboarders getting the run of the cabin.
One other Southwest passenger recently called out an analogous scam on a flight from Philadelphia to Chicago where he saw 30 preboarders lined up within the terminal who reportedly “self-identify” as disabled to get the coveted seating on the flight.
“Persons are making the most of the system,” Steve Maziarka told the Wall Street Journal in regards to the February flight. “It’s just gotten uncontrolled.”
In 2022, the pinnacle of a significant airport called out TikTok users for suggesting the wheelchair abuse to their followers.
“In case you go on TikTok you will notice that’s one in every of the travel hacks that folks are recommending, please don’t try this we want to guard the service for the individuals who need it most,” then London-Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye told UK-based LBC radio.
