Originally Posted by
JAXPax
I've seen the exact opposite occur on international flights where there is a long walk to customs. I came off a Turkish flight at IAD that had 45 wheelchairs waiting (I counted... they were all the way up the jetway and down the sterile corridor).
When I was an airline station manager, I took part in a wheelchair/disabled passengers task force at a major airport. Per the statistics from Open Doors Organization itself (advocacy for disabled travelers), EIGHTY PERCENT of people who use a wheelchair in the airport do not require one for their daily life.
It's that long walk thing. I know plenty of folks who don't use wheelchairs at home but to get from the curb to the counter to a distant gate is a much longer distance than they walk on a regular basis. And the return with waiting at baggage claim and if it's international add all that walking/standing, I am not surprised at all by that figure.
You'll get old one day and maybe not be amazed at what older folks can and cannot do.