Originally Posted by
LarryJ
The standard practice is for them to hand off the passenger to the gate agent. They have to go take care of other passengers. If the gate changes, the gate agent calls for another attendant to transport the passenger to the new gate.
Since you were there, there was no reason for the attendant to wait for the agent.
Understood, never expected the attendants to hang around for 3 hours, but I did not tell them I was with my elderly parents. I could easily have been on another flight and left, the point being no one even asked. If it was my responsibility to tell them, no one mentioned that either. Perhaps a kindly GA would take pity on my parents and escort them or maybe my parents would have the foresight to ask the GA about any changes.
I think unaccompanied disabled adults should be treated the same as unaccompanied minors. If they were unaccompanied minors I would get a gate pass and be able to go in with them.
I think the most surprising thing for me how this is not more in the news, with the elderly and unattended just being left at the gate to fend for themselves.
Originally Posted by
lincolnjkc
This does kind of fall apart for early arrivals (before there's an agent at the gate) -- I've seen a couple elderly/mobility channelged pax show up hours before flight and just kind of abandoned in the gate area with the attendant promising that someone will be back prior to boarding. On the flip side, agents know (or can easily determine) who has a WCHR SSR in their record. One would hope that if a gate change had occurred and at boarding a WCHR passenger was checked in but not boarded that might prompt an inquiry. But some agents will go all out and some agents will just kind of shrug while making 10 "Passenger Jones, this is your final and immediate boarding call for flight XXX to destinations. Doors will be closing in 5 minutes" [If a disabled passenger was actually "abandoned" and missed a flight, that's a good time to demand to speak with the Complaint Resolution Official (CRO) which airlines are required to have on site at the airport or available by phone to resolve disability-related issues [see 14 CFR 382 -- [url]https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-II/subchapter-D/part-382?toc=1]
Particularly worth noting 14 CFR 382.91(a):
and 14 CFR 382.103
And as someone who tried get a gate pass, at a station where agents are usually willing to take the passenger-friendly view to rules, to meet and assist my "cannot walk distances" mother in law... Yeah, UA doesn't do that anymore. The official answer is it's unnecessary because that's what the attendants are there for.
Had no idea about these regs, this was super helpful!