Man Sues For Being Called Too Disabled To Fly

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville man who said he was grounded by an airline in June has flied a lawsuit against the company. He said workers wouldn't let him fly because he's disabled.

Andy Gates suffers from a neurological disorder that has confined him to a wheelchair.

In June, he booked a flight out of the Jacksonville to Wisconsin. However, Gates said U.S. Airways denied him the right to fly.

"They said I was too disabled to fly alone. I don't have enough words to describe how angry I am," Gates told Channel 4 shortly after the incident.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/14136683/detail.html

Why the #$@%! would they suddenly decide that a person in a wheelchair MUST have a traveling companion to board a flight?

Is this the old stereotype reemerging that people with disabilities are like children and must have an adult with them?
Is this the old idea that we must have keepers?

What the fuck is up with judgemental airline employees recently? x(

The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act pretty much prohibited the airline from doing this. They can ONLY deny boarding to passengers who are so disabled that they require a full time nurse, and even then only if the nurse isn't with them. Federal law actually requires airlines to train their employees on how to deal with these passengers. If they didn't know what they were doing, the airline is in de facto violation of the law.

One thing does stink about that law though. Electric wheelchairs are considered DOT hazardous materials, and cannot be stowed in the cabin. The chair has to be stored in the cargo hold. In the event of an emergency, a disabled person would find himself unable to rescue himself because his only source of mobility would be taken away. While that appears to be the "safety" argument that the airline is making, that argument won't get them around the law.

...and there's something called "Americans with Disabilites Act" that prevents airline employees from doing exactly what that passenger is suing USAIR for. Even people who're obviously inebriated are treated with kid gloves, finessed, questioned gently and never threatened with being banned cuz we're concerned they might actually be on medication instead of just plain drunk. We have to prove they've been in the bar, we have to make certain there's eyewitnesses (and nose-smell-nesses) to coraborate our suspicions.

As for those that are truly disabled, we fall all over ourselves to give them the best service possible. We keep special seats for them, we board them before anyone else, we go down to the restaurants to buy them lunch or a soda pop or anything else they might want. We take them to the restrooms and wait outside the stalls for them.

But most of all we talk to them--and directly to them, not their attendants or family members--and make sure they feel comfortable with us.

So, in other words, if our own altruism isn't enough to evoke our compassion and special treatment for disabled passengers, then the lawsuit threat from the AWDA would be!

The only circumstances I see that would prevent this particular passenger from travelling would be if he was a danger to himself or other people onboard. Many people with cerebal palsey or other neurological disorders might shake so much they can injure someone in such close proximity, or be unable to keep a seatbelt fastened.(Even then, I would find him a row to himself) So if it was a safety issue onboard, that's the only thing that would supercede the disabilities act.

I understand it sounds like the same thing that Southwest has done with the mini-skirt and low-cut halter wearing passengers, or the fat passengers who don't fit in one seat. (BTW, obesity is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act) But this is my job, I know these circumstances, I've done this for almost 20 years, and I can guarantee there has to be more than "judgemental airline employees" deciding they didn't want to deal with it. Please don't be so quick to judge yourself.

I worked for my state's Protection and Advocacy system for several years as an attorney. My biggest regret in life, was having to leave that job. All I can say is, big business is testing the waters with more conservative federal courts, after six years of shrubby appointments. It's sad...when I was in the trenches, ADA was new, and we had a supportive president. Now I see all those challenges we dealt with, being turned over.

The disabled will be the last disenfranchised community in this country.