U.S. Legislator Stopped from Boarding over Wheelchair
Joe Cortez September 15, 2022
Frankfurt, Germany - August 23, 2016: Aircraft of the Lufthansa company at the Frankfurt International airport. It is the busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic (Photo: iStock)
The Washington Post reports Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin was denied boarding on a Lufthansa flight, despite assurances he would be allowed to travel without issue.
“Let’s Call This What it is – Discrimination Against People with Disabilities”
The issue happened on a scheduled flight in August 2022 with the U.S. Navy to visit military bases. According to his account, Navy officials spoke with Lufthansa before the flight to ensure everything would go smoothly. Company representatives assured staff there would be no problem allowing the representative to board.
However, once at the airport, Langevin says he was denied boarding on his flight over his wheelchair. The issue was focused on the lithium-ion battery powering his mobility device. While the lightweight batteries are preferred for most mobility devices, cheaper ones have been used in other products, including “hoverboards,” which have caught fire on aircraft.
Although Federal Aviation Administration regulations allow flyers using a mobility device to travel with a lithium-ion battery-powered device, the gate staff did not allow the legislator to travel. One month later, he took to Twitter to explain his frustrations with the process.
My wheelchair uses a type of lithium-ion battery which @FAANews has deemed safe to fly.
I had proof that the battery is cleared to travel. I even called the inventor of my wheelchair to explain the safety guidelines to the airline staff.
And still, I wasn’t allowed to board.
— Jim Langevin (@JimLangevin) September 12, 2022
“Let’s call this what it is – discrimination against people with disabilities,” Langevin wrote on Twitter. “It’s frustrating, exhausting, and it’s happening to countless airline passengers with disabilities, most of whom are not members of Congress accompanied by the U.S. Navy.”
In a statement, Lufthansa apologized for the mistake. A spokesperson for the German airline said there had been “challenges when it comes to customers traveling with lithium batteries,” and the gate staff misinterpreted the guidelines.”
Although Langevin was allowed to travel on a later flight when an aide retrieved another wheelchair from his home, he noted that most people do not have that liberty. He called for the passing of his proposed bill to strengthen protections for disabled travelers in the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act.
Issue Latest Row Between Disabled Travelers and Airlines
The situation is just the latest example of travelers with mobility devices facing issues when it comes to air travel. In 2021, a TikTok video went viral when a flyer accused Delta Air Lines of destroying her wheelchair in travel, while the weight of mobility devices was the focus of a 2020 issue with American Airlines.
Just flew LH in and out of FRA, not ADA friendly.. Lots of stair boarding planes, buses with no ramps, and no elevator access. They do not care even when the request is in your record. It was very bad.
I'd like to know why this congressman is not traveling on a US flag carrier.
Lufthansa w/ UA flight number would be considered US flag carrier
Because Lufthansa is the only carrier to fly nonstop from New England to Germany, which is probably an important consideration for someone using a wheelchair?
Also, even if he did need to connect, many cities in Germany do not have service from any US flag carrier.
Not knowing anything about him, I would hope his intentions are to book the lowest cost ticket that suits his travel needs, thus maximizing tax-payer savings. Perhaps, further research would reveal different motives.
Perhaps he has prior travel experience on some of the many non US airlines that experienced international travellers rate way, way better (on the world's biggest public airline rating site SkyTrax) than the USA's mediocre (by public opinion) airline offerings.
Oh lordy, Skytrax? Give me a break! Skytrax is widely known as a "pay to play" rating service. Indeed, Lufthansa is a "5 star" airline based solely on a plane that isn't even in service yet.
FAA should fine Lufthansa big time. These stories about how a crew exceeded its authority or otherwise discriminated are all well and good, but the airline is not going to clean up its act until forced to, and a healthy fine may be the incentive to do so.
Well, aviation safety rules and regulations are so complicated and ambiguous at times that I would refrain from calling this discrimination of any kind.
Each employee only wants to cover his own a**! Just imagine you let someone on the plane and god forbid that battery really "fires up" somewhere over the ocean? I wouldn't not want to be responsible for the possible outcome...
And rest assure if it came to light in the aftermath that just one tiny regulation has been misinterpreted, well you are f****...
so it is up to legislators to finally make the rules and regulations as simple as possible and also easy to understand for a non law person....
This. Something I still haven't seen addressed is whether the battery in his wheelchair is even legal to fly--wheelchairs have higher limits than other batteries but they still have limits. And does Germany have different rules for wheelchair batteries than the US?
It is his wheelchair that cannot board, not him. He might not get any compensation. If he use a manual wheelchair or one that provided by the airline, there would be no problem