Air travel can be frustrating for everyone. But imagine being in a wheelchair and being patted down every time you travel because you can't walk through the metal detector. Or being a diabetic trying not to look suspicious as you transport a bag of medically needed syringes through security. Or simply being a parent hanging on to a howling toddler and an infant while trying to fold down a stroller for the X-ray machine. For special-needs passengers, flying can be close to a nightmare, especially over the holidays, when airports are packed and getting the attention of harried airline employees may be more difficult. But planning will help navigate some of the obstacles. "[Security people] are going to err on the side of caution," says Pam Morenzetti, director of community interaction for iCan.com, a Web site for people with disabilities. "Some of the people they are going to treat unfairly are going to be people with disabilities because [screening them is] going to be something different. "The way you get through an airport is you don't stick out," says Morenzetti, who traveled extensively with her former boss, Heidi Van Arnem, who used a wheelchair. "If you're a person with a disability, you stick out." Morenzetti recalls Van Arnem being pulled aside for hand screening, which she found unpleasant. "She used to call it being molested," Morenzetti says. Since last year's terrorist attacks, rule changes have made air travel harder for special-needs passengers. For example, travelers cannot bring family members or friends to help them get their children and belongings to the gate. (You can get a special gate pass, but the airlines we talked with had very specific protocols for issuing those.) Friends and families also cannot meet their visitor at the arrival gate, leaving the passenger to fend for himself. So who is responsible for helping special-needs passengers get from the ticket counter, through security and to the gate in a timely manner? And how do you ask for the service you require and, in many cases, are legally entitled to? We talked to Delta Air Lines, AirTran and Atlantic Southeast Airlines (a Delta subsidiary), the Department of Transportation, the new Transportation Security Administration, travelers and disability and travel interest groups to find out how to make trips easier for special-needs passengers. What airlines can do The airlines bear a greater responsibility toward meeting passenger needs than the airport does, according to Lanii Thomas, public relations manager at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. She says the airport can provide visitors with translators, help make overnight arrangements if passengers are stranded and mediate to a certain extent between the airline and the passenger. However, in most cases the airline is responsible for helping passengers with special needs. An airline can: The assistance is part customer service and part an act of Congress. In 1986, Congress passed the Air Carrier Access Act, which says that no airline may discriminate against a person with a disability. The act guarantees protection at the ticket counter, on the concourse and on the airplane. Among other things, it requires that airlines store your wheelchair on the plane and have an on-board wheelchair for passengers; and that airlines offer boarding assistance for smaller aircraft that don't use jetways. "[The Department of Transportation has] been very stringent with the airlines. The airlines have been especially sensitive. Each airline is required to keep a copy [of the regulations] at each gate and each ticket counter and incorporate it in their training as they go," explains Tad Hutcheson, director of marketing for AirTran. If the regulations are not followed and passengers with disabilities feel they have a grievance, there are many forms of recourse, he says. The first is to ask for an agent's supervisor. And a complaint resolution officer is mandated under the Air Carrier Access Act. Each airline is required to have a CRO on duty to help resolve situations for people with disabilities. Passengers also can ask for the name and number of the corporate CRO. Next is the DOT hotline and filing a formal complaint with the DOT. But your best bet is to handle it with the agent or his supervisor, Hutcheson says. Lodging a formal complaint is not a quick process, and once you're up to the CRO or the DOT hotline, you've probably missed your flight. You can file a complaint later if you feel your requests were handled poorly; the DOT gets a few dozen every month. In August, 43 complaints were filed, out of 48.6 million people traveling on major carriers. It's helpful when you have a complaint if all your requests are "in the record," he says. That means that you asked the airline to write into your reservation file all the assistance that you required and what your special circumstances were. How to get help Start with some planning. Since Sept. 11, 2001, many airlines and airports have created Web sites with information, tips and recommendations about the services they can provide. Morenzetti of iCan.com recommends creating a file to take with you to the airport. It could contain a printed version of the airline's rules from its Web site. It could also have any doctor's notes or information about your condition or medicine. Your next step is to call the airline, even if you've made your reservation online. You don't have to tell them that you are disabled or what your condition is, but the more specific you are the better the airline agent will understand your needs and try to meet them. "Tell us that you have a disability," Hutcheson advises. "A lot of people don't use that word. Our people in reservations have been trained -- they are very sensitive to that word. Don't beat around the bush." Also have them read the record back to you so it's exactly how you want it, he said. Make sure that you request your wheelchair or meet-and-assist service in advance, recommends John Kennedy, a spokesman for Delta. He says if you don't reserve a wheelchair in advance, you may have to wait. You may also have to wait during peak times, so when possible, fly on slower travel days. Hutcheson says Monday afternoons through Thursday mornings are the slowest, and Saturdays can be good, too. The meet-and-assist and the wheelchair service may be the best way for a parent traveling with children to get help. AirTran, Delta and Atlantic Southeast say they will honor requests from a parent for these services. They say you do not have to be disabled to get this help. Marietta mom Sue Fritts could have used that service during one of her first trips with her daughter, Teagan, now 16 months old. Fritts was flying to Philadelphia with Teagan, then 6 months, and was inexperienced at getting the baby's carrier and stroller through screening. "I just didn't think of what to do first," she says. "I put the infant carrier through first, and I couldn't fold up the stroller because I couldn't put her down." Since security screeners can't hold babies, she had to place Teagan on the floor. While she struggled with the stroller, her purse went through the scanner. "I was really quite shaken trying to do everything," Fritts says. "They were just not at all sympathetic. They should be a little more educated." In Philadelphia, Fritts was further frustrated because ticket agents wouldn't let her mother come to the gate to help her. It also would have helped Fritts to know that on Delta and AirTran, anyone can request electric cart service. While it is intended for people with disabilities, parents with children and those who are just too tired to walk are welcome to use it. You can also book it in advance. The airline spokesmen agreed that their ticket agents are unlikely to issue a special gate pass to the spouse or friend of a parent flying with children to help get the family to the gate, unless the child is a minor flying alone or is disabled. Sometimes "nice" gate agents will issue you one, but don't count on it. If you are having someone meet a minor at the gate, call ahead and put that person's name in the record. The ticket agent will ask to see identification before issuing a gate pass. If you need special assistance, it's best to get to the airport earlier than the airline advises. Tell the ticket agent again when you check in what your situation is and what your requests are. Point out that they are "in the record." When you get to the gate, check in with a gate agent. "The gate attendant should be your best friend. Get there early, early and approach them very nicely. They are the people who have the power to make your trip great or a horror story," says Morenzetti. Ask to preboard so you have time to get settled, she advises. Many airlines don't routinely preboard for parents with kids anymore, but they often will if you ask. When traveling with kids, you also can ask the gate agent to block seats around you if possible, Morenzetti advises. Often, they will do it and you'll have more room. Positive changes While some regulations may have made it more challenging for passengers with disabilities, the federal takeover of security checkpoints has a bright side. For the first time in U.S. aviation history, disabled fliers are guaranteed consistent treatment at every airport while being screened. "Before Sept. 11, under the FAA there were no consistent policies or programs for screening people with disabilities. Each airline would do it differently. Some airlines did it well, some poorly, but travelers wouldn't know what to expect," explains Sandra Cammaroto. Cammaroto, based in Washington, is the Transportation Security Administration's senior adviser and program manager for the screening of persons with disabilities. She has been working with a coalition of more than 20 disability advocacy groups to develop policies and training procedures for the 40,000 federal screeners, who are supposed to be at work nationwide by Tuesday. Cammaroto says the training categories are mobility, hearing and visual and hidden disabilities. She says the hidden ones, such as heart and lung conditions, autism and cognitive disorders, are what often give screeners the most difficulty. Screeners are learning to offer assistance and to use visual cues and questions to determine the capabilities and concerns of the passenger. Then the security staff is to use proper techniques to screen, avoiding precarious or uncomfortable positions. Cammaroto says the TSA wants passengers to feel free to communicate their concerns or conditions to the screeners. If you can't be separated from your guide dog because the dog will think he's off duty, tell the screeners that. If you are visually impaired and need help being reunited with your bags after your screening, point that out. Some airports are offering special-needs lines as an option for the disabled and for families, though airports can't require that a person with a disability go through a special line. Cammaroto says screeners also will be looking for people who need special assistance and will guide them to the front of the line and help them with their belongings. If you are traveling and there is not a special line and no one approaches you to help, head to the employee screening line. You can alert one of those officers to your needs. Next on Cammaroto's agenda is other passengers with special needs. She will be working to create policies and procedures for people who may have had recent surgery, for the elderly and obese, people who have had traumatic experiences, such as rape, who might be sensitive about being touched, and pregnant and lactating women. For Atlanta mom Gloria Avillar, that's good news. She traveled extensively with her daughter Madeline while she was nursing and later. "Traveling with a child is stressful enough," she says. "It's nice to know the TSA is making it easier and a more pleasant experience for not only the mothers but for other people traveling." WEB RESOURCES
PHONE NUMBERS FOR ASSISTANCE
-- Compiled by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso | |||||
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