If you have ever been on an airplane, you have probably faced the hours of torture in the airport waiting for your flight or you have had to run as fast as you
possibly can in order to catch your flight. Unfortunately, that isn’t the only annoyance of traveling somewhere on an airplane. Somebody in a wheelchair experiences that first hand.
Even though people in wheelchairs are very unique, they have one thing in common; they all have something that prohibition them walking, which isn’t a huge problem until they have to go on an airplane.
When you are getting on an airplane, you have to use a series of skills that are absent from the toolbox of somebody with a physical disability.
The ability to walk freely is on that list. Depending on the situation, that aspect of the disability is sometimes exploited more than it is a on other occasions.
When there is a little kid who can’t walk freely, it’s not a big deal because someone can just carry or guide them on the plane, but, when there is an adult in a wheelchair, it’s a little more complicated because it would be hard for one person to carry them upstairs and down the aisle.
Because of how narrow the aisles are, a person with no disability has trouble getting through. Saying that, it is twice as hard for a person to walk through the aisle when they are holding someone who is just as big or bigger than them to get through.
It’s even harder for someone who is with a paralyzed friend or family member to maneuver on the airplane. Somebody who can walk a little and bear weight on their legs can be held up and guided through the aisle, but, somebody who is paralyzed can’t be. In order to get somebody who is paralyzed in their seat, two people would have to assist and carry them to their seat.
That would bring up a whole new issue because the aisles on an airplane aren’t designed so that people can carry other adults. If they were able to carry them over their shoulder, it would be a problem because the ceilings are so low, but, if they tried to wrap their arms around their neck and their legs around their waist, they would be too wide and wouldn’t fit through the aisle.
Once they get on the plane and get situated, they have to worry about what is going on with their wheelchair and if it will be readily available when they arrive at their destination. Even though you may not think that is a big deal, the person absolutely cannot go anywhere without their wheelchair.
You would need a lift to get the person in the wheelchair on and off the airplane. That way, they don’t even have to get out of the chair. That would make the disabled person a lot more comfortable because they would be in control of the wheelchair as opposed to having to trust that strangers are going to take care of it.
Even though that sounds like a huge project, it really wouldn’t be. Let’s say that everyone agreed to build every new airplane with a wheelchair lift. By the time five years goes by, most of the airplanes would have a lift.
When we begin to have planes with wheelchair lifts, people are going to begin to question how safe it is. In order to assure that the wheelchair is secure, they would have to strap it down with tie downs that are similar to the ones that they use on busses.
Never gave that much thought. This is something that should be dealt with by the airlines, for the benefit of all people with disabilities.