Originally Posted by
JoeW
It may be the the handling agents "rules" when it comes to checking in. I believe 50 % or more of the check-in agents says the wheelchair, especially if electric, need to be checked in as special luggage. Which (of course) is in-correct. Almost "everything" goes if arranged. Yes, if you are checking in thirty minutes before the flight is supposed to leave, yes - there is a problem with regards to powerchairs. But be at the airport when supposed, and things should (could...) go smoother. But a lot of the "rules" are the handling agent's rules rather than the airports...
Nop, not the check-in agent not knowing the rules or not caring, but actual airline or airport regulation.
I've run into it at some airports and it's actually standard practice at my home airport (AMS). If you ask me, it's mainly based on, how do I put this, the lack of ability to empathise with what it can mean for a persons health and piece of mind. They tend to forget that the chair belongs to a person for a reason, not just to tease them with loading and unloading the heavy thing. Untill recently it even was a struggle to get a manual chair brought to the gate when arriving at AMS. That has now improved greatly, also thanks to the new crew of Special Services (they aren't airport employees but work for a different company the airport hires to do the job). They would talk to the staff unloading the plane and if needed more or less get the chair out of the hold themselves. They're some great people that'll really try to address a persons need whenever possible, even if it means bending the rules a bit. Unfortunately they don't run the rest of the airport.
You know, I can understand these things happening at those small airports at like for instance one of the greek islands. Their facilities are less, crew seem to have to do more heavy duty work, I can understand that at those airports it can be asking to much to want to take a powerchair to the gate -provided one gets there in enough time-. But at the large airports, they simply can't explain it to me. I know why, but I find the reasons unacceptable, just like the reasons they use to explain why too much other public stuff isn't accessible when countries like the US and Australia show us it can be done.
I've had it happen at Sydney Airport Australia also when reminding the FA that my notes stated I'ld want the manual chair at the gate. I was told by the airline that "it's airport-policy", but I think that was more being the specific persons not being very willing and not due to policy. No problem though, I'll wait untill I see my chair and very friendly but firmly explain why I find I need the chair. They got that -and the fact that I didn't do that just to be difficult or complain- and within 15 minutes after that there was my blue-and-purple friend at the aircraft door.
And yeps; I was talking about Europe in my previous post.