Staff often treat them without kindness.
One in four U.S. adults live with disabilities—that’s over 40 million people. But every year, heartbreaking stories come to light of airlines ill-treating those who may need the most care when flying.
Last month, a video by disability advocate Shane Hryhorec went viral. He was removed from a Virgin Australia flight before departure due to a non-issue–the motor of his wheelchair–and the airline later apologized for its staff’s actions. However, this happens far too often to be ignored. Airlines have a bad habit of bad treatment, whether it’s leaving people with disabilities behind at the gate, forgetting to deplane them, or damaging their mobility devices while transporting them.
Passengers with disabilities face barriers in their daily lives, and airlines add to their troubles. The aviation industry needs to do better and make the skies friendly to everyone, and the first step is to treat people with kindness and listen to their needs.
Related: I’m a Wheelchair User, and I’ll Never Fly Southwest Again
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Virgin Australia Removes Passenger for Dispute Over Motor Assist Device
Australian entrepreneur and disability advocate Shane Hryhorec boarded a flight from Sydney to Adelaide with his service dog. A crew member told Hryhorec he would need to store his motor assist device (a portable device that attaches to the wheelchair and reduces pushing effort) under the seat in front of him. There was no room to store it under the seats, and he didn’t want to store it where his dog was seated for its safety. The crew had allowed him to store it in the overhead compartment on all his other flights with the airline, but on that flight, they refused. He could not be reseated because his dog needed to be in the third row. Eventually, they asked him to deplane, and he was wheeled off.
A part of the exchange with the airline went viral, and the airline has since apologized.
“It made me feel humiliated, it made me feel so small, and it’s just awful that this level of discrimination is occurring in the year 2026,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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British Airways Refuses to Fly Athlete Without Companion
In June, Samanta Bullock was returning from New York to London when British Airways staff refused to fly her. Bullock is a paralympic athlete, model, and disability advocate, and was in New York City for a U.N. conference. On her way back, the airline told her the crew couldn’t help her to the lavatory during the flight and couldn’t evacuate her in an emergency.
The airline said she needed a companion to travel with her. Bullock travels independently for work frequently and pays extra for special assistance. The airline asked her personal questions about whether she can go to the toilet independently. She told them she can, but she needs help arriving at the toilet (airlines offer an aisle chair for passengers with disabilities).
In the end, American Airlines upgraded her and flew her home, but customer care also called to ask if she would use the toilet during the flight. She asked them if they had an aisle chair, they did, so she didn’t know why they were asking these questions.
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Delta Passenger Did Not Look Disabled Enough to Pre-Board
People around the world are living with invisible disabilities. One such person was asked to wait her turn while trying to pre-board, and this is a prime example of why airline staff members need to be more sensitive.
Kathryn Colvin has multiple sclerosis and uses a cane to walk. In March, she was flying from Atlanta airport and asked for wheelchair assistance, but it wasn’t available. She reached the gate and got in line for pre-boarding when a first-class passenger yelled at her that it was pre-boarding. She stood there, and the passenger again told her off, after which a flight crew member told her to “please wait until it’s your turn to board.” Embarrassed, Colvin left the queue, but an active-duty member loudly drew attention to her cane and insisted she board before him. Colvin doesn’t like to get attention for her disability, and she also felt humiliated by the staff member and the first-class passenger.
Related: I Wish More People Knew These Things About Traveling With a Hidden Disability
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Delta Apologizes for Damaging Wheelchair
Airlines get hefty fines for damaging wheelchair of disabled passengers’ wheelchairs. Wheelchairs and mobility devices are not luggage; they are essential to passengers’ freedom of movement and should be treated as such.
Earlier this year, Delta damaged the motorized wheelchair of Latavia Sturdivant, the winner of Ms. Wheelchair America 2026. Her customized wheelchair was damaged on her way back to New York from South Dakota. She uses a specialized wheelchair to keep her body aligned and could not use a loaner from the airline. Without her wheelchair, she is unable to leave her house. When she complained to the airline, an employee allegedly told her a family member could push her, which also wasn’t possible because of the wheelchair’s weight.
Delta apologized and offered to pay for repairs in full.
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Delta Fails Woman With Cerebral Palsy at Atlanta Airport
In April last year, life coach Liz Venendaal was on her way home to Florida from Washington when she had a one-hour layover at Atlanta airport. After landing, the woman, who lives with cerebral palsy, says she was told to wait along with other passengers who needed assistance. She was eventually wheeled to the Delta Wheelchair Assistance area, but not to the gate of her connecting flight. A row of people were waiting to be taken to their gates, but staff refused to talk to them or help. In order to make her flight, she offered $20 to whoever would take her to the gate, and she made it on the flight. Venendaal said that it was a dehumanizing experience, as staff treated her and others who needed assistance poorly and discarded them like furniture.
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BBC Journalist Crawls to Toilet on Flight
In 2024, British journalist Frank Gardner had a humiliating experience on a flight from Warsaw to London. Polish airline LOT did not have an aisle chair on board, so he had to crawl to the toilet in his suit. Most airlines have an aisle chair to help passengers with disabilities use the lavatory with dignity. He said that the staff were apologetic and embarrassed and encouraged him to complain to the airline. LOT apologized for the inconvenience and said they don’t have aisle chairs on short-haul flights due to limited space.