I flew Southwest from BWI to ATL the week leading up to Memorial Day. It was a full flight, and there were 12 wheelchair passengers on the flight. Prior to boarding, they announced that there were only two employees to push all of the wheelchair passengers for boarding. They then asked anyone who could handle the walk to walk instead, explaining that we would be delayed quite a bit if they didn't. The gate agent then said that they would still be allowed to board first. "Miraculously" all but one passenger didn't need the wheelchair.

That said, not everyone who needs a wheelchair looks like they do. In October 2021, I fractured my foot about eight weeks before a trip to Italy. The fracture was just shy of requiring surgery, so while it healed and I was out of the boot by the trip, I was advised not to walk much. I requested a wheelchair for my flights, but when I arrived at the airport, I explained that I could walk to my initial gate. The issue was walking through LHR with a layover of 40-ish minutes between flights. They had a wheelchair waiting for me at LHR, and also one at MXP. After my flights, having a wheelchair was very helpful, as it would've taken me ages to walk those, between pain and my foot stifffening up from not moving.

On the return trip, we had multiple flight changes, so my wheelchair request disappeared. We had several hours in LHR, and I was able to walk. Once at LHR, I requested a wheelchair to meet me at JFK, because I knew I had walked too much at LHR.