Out of control?

[johne]

bogus! If one is so infirm, they should not travel. I have seen servicemen with missing limbs massive surgical scares waiting in airport lines. What keeps them out of service chairs is self-respect. Obese people are not entitled for a service chair because they love burgers and fries. Being older, fat and lazy is not a handicap. If "standing" causes so much pain, stay home and avoid inconveniencing the traveling public. 90% are losers looking for special treatment. Further they want to get boarded first so they do not have to pay for a 1st class ticket and get premium overhead baggage space.

I make the round trip every month so I have observed this practice. (Last trip about two weeks ago I counted 25 wheel chairs boarding .) I agree with others that have said about (you can't play detective ) on who is entitled or not. That is an impossible call to make.Over the years I have seen some fairly young women in good shape but then notice their skin color...doesn't look too healthy. Then again I see an over abundance of overweight suma type wrestlers. So whose to know?
If they are boarding alone I don't think they can bring overhead luggage on board.However, many of them have "family members" that do that, along with the family"s luggage.
Obviously I walk around the airport a lot. Logical person thinks: Why are these chairs only alined up at gates for the DR...AND non tourist destinations?

 

[NALs]

bogus! If one is so infirm, they should not travel.

That's not reality.

I have seen servicemen with missing limbs massive surgical scares waiting in airport lines. What keeps them out of service chairs is self-respect. Obese people are not entitled for a service chair because they love burgers and fries. Being older, fat and lazy is not a handicap. If "standing" causes so much pain, stay home and avoid inconveniencing the traveling public. 90% are losers looking for special treatment. Further they want to get boarded first so they do not have to pay for a 1st class ticket and get premium overhead baggage space.

Not going to happen. Plus, these things don't just happen to the "older, fat and lazy." Depending on the country, the average person is older in age and in looks than some of the people affected by this. Having a missing limb is completely different from hip pain. For one thing, a missing limb doesn't causes discomfort.

 

[malko]

That's because it's the DR airports managing the wheelchair " operation ".

In the real world it is often the airline that requires one to make use of a wheelchair, and it's more of a PITA than anything else. The airline personnel keeps your boarding passes and decide where and when you go.
And there is no way around it, you do not have a say in the matter.

Pre-covid my father had his knees replaced a month before traveling to visit us in the DR ( amongst other destinations ).
The surgeon and/or kiné ( the person who gives re-education after the surgery) gave the thumbs up, IF he had a flat bed for the trans-atlantic flight leg AND he had to disclose his " condition" to the airlines.
Who in turn made it mandatory for him to be carted around in a wheelchair. Something about liabilities.

Anyway, from the get-go, he tried to get out of it, preferring to do his own thing. Nope, no can do, not in Europe, nor on arrival in Miami, not even in Mexico.
The only place he managed to shoo them off, was--- you guessed-- when leaving the DR.


All in all it's an easy fix. Make it that only the airlines can ask for assistance for a passenger from the airport authorities.
A passenger would not be allowed to ask for said assistance directly from the airports.

 

[Big]

That's not reality.


Not going to happen. Plus, these things don't just happen to the "older, fat and lazy." Depending on the country, the average person is older in age and in looks than some of the people affected by this. Having a missing limb is completely different from hip pain. For one thing, a missing limb doesn't causes discomfort.

Go ahead and make excuses for these scam artists. These are the same losers that park in the handicapped zone and run into a liquor store., double park or park on the sidewalk and block roads without any consideration to others. I see these inconsiderate losers every day in the city and every time I am at the airport. The platinum loser members are the ones who get on the golf carts at the airport and jump off when they get to their arrival\departure gate.

 

[keepcoming]

bogus! If one is so infirm, they should not travel. I have seen servicemen with missing limbs massive surgical scares waiting in airport lines. What keeps them out of service chairs is self-respect. Obese people are not entitled for a service chair because they love burgers and fries. Being older, fat and lazy is not a handicap. If "standing" causes so much pain, stay home and avoid inconveniencing the traveling public. 90% are losers looking for special treatment. Further they want to get boarded first so they do not have to pay for a 1st class ticket and get premium overhead baggage space.

Stop with this!! You have no idea what you are talking about. I for one at times need assistance. I have had surgery on both knees and at times it can be painful to walk long distances. And I fly first class all the time. You do not know what underlying conditions someone may have. My nephew seems healthy but also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. It flares up at times, so he sometimes needs assistance. So, we should not fly? Older, fat and lazy, you seem to use this stereotype a lot. I worked for the airlines, so I have seen the abuse, but I also know that while someone may seem healthy, they may have issues that are not seen. For this reason, they need assistance at times. 90% are losers? And you know this how??

 

[LindseyKaufman]

It is complicated. I ask myself “Who am I to judge?”

 

[JD Jones]

I wonder if last on/last off would make a difference.

If I'm not mistaken, wheelchair folks are first on, but last off at the destination. Isn't that how it works now? I'd hate to be last off a plane flying into any airport these days.

 

[Joseph NY2STI]

If I'm not mistaken, wheelchair folks are first on, but last off at the destination. Isn't that how it works now? I'd hate to be last off a plane flying into any airport these days.

I never noticed who's last off, but I suspect you might have fewer takers if they were last on. Just a guess, of course.

 

[AlterEgo]

If I'm not mistaken, wheelchair folks are first on, but last off at the destination. Isn't that how it works now? I'd hate to be last off a plane flying into any airport these days.

Even if last off, remember they wait in no lines so it’s a quick trip through customs and immigration.

 

[NanSanPedro]

I have sciatica which is not visible. I've never taken a wheel chair and will resist it as long as I can. But standing for long durations with no support is no picnic.

Edited to add, if I were a wheelchair pusher, I would have some type of support and that would help the pain. Maybe a second job?

 

[NALs]

Go ahead and make excuses for these scam artists. These are the same losers that park in the handicapped zone and run into a liquor store., double park or park on the sidewalk and block roads without any consideration to others. I see these inconsiderate losers every day in the city and every time I am at the airport. The platinum loser members are the ones who get on the golf carts at the airport and jump off when they get to their arrival\departure gate.

They are not the same. Your posts are a perfect example of how there are people that think they know when they don't.

 

[cavok]

Some of these people really shouldn't be allowed to fly at all. Some are so obese or so invalid that, if the plane ever crash landed and there was a fire, or the plane had to ditch in the ocean, there'd be no way to get them off the plane. They'd be dead.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Some of these people really shouldn't be allowed to fly at all. Some are so obese or so invalid that, if the plane ever crash landed and there was a fire, or the plane had to ditch in the ocean, there'd be no way to get them off the plane. They'd be dead.

Tbh, when you board the airplane and they shut the doors, you have little recourse if you die in a crash. It's kind of over anyway.

 

[SantiagoDR]

bogus! If one is so infirm, they should not travel. I have seen servicemen with missing limbs massive surgical scares waiting in airport lines. What keeps them out of service chairs is self-respect. Obese people are not entitled for a service chair because they love burgers and fries. Being older, fat and lazy is not a handicap. If "standing" causes so much pain, stay home and avoid inconveniencing the traveling public. 90% are losers looking for special treatment. Further they want to get boarded first so they do not have to pay for a 1st class ticket and get premium overhead baggage space.

Do you make exceptions for race, color or creed?
..... or are you like that about everyone not special like you?

I have the right to travel even if I need help?
(PS: I usually fly First Class)

 

[NALs]

The point is that the world doesn't work as Big would "like it" to work. People with all sorts of disabilities travel by land, air and sea every single day. If their disability requires special attention that could "inconvenience" others, then so be it. Not everyone is a wimp and simply accept whatever curve ball life threw at them. Instead of letting the lemons life throws hit you in the face, you catch it and make lemonade.

 

[Big]

Stop with this!! You have no idea what you are talking about. I for one at times need assistance. I have had surgery on both knees and at times it can be painful to walk long distances. And I fly first class all the time. You do not know what underlying conditions someone may have. My nephew seems healthy but also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. It flares up at times, so he sometimes needs assistance. So, we should not fly? Older, fat and lazy, you seem to use this stereotype a lot. I worked for the airlines, so I have seen the abuse, but I also know that while someone may seem healthy, they may have issues that are not seen. For this reason, they need assistance at times. 90% are losers? And you know this how??

"Needs assistance for arthritis." we clearly are on the opposite side of the spectrum on this issue. Everyone knows this is a scam. A middle-aged man getting pushed around in a chair and bounces out of it at the duty-free shops to buy liquor and cigarettes. He is an inconsiderate loser taking advantage of everything and everybody. The majority of these people are just inconsiderate and lazy. They live their entire lives attempting to get handouts. We all know there are legitimate disabled people that need assistance. This is not about them. This is about someone with self-diagnosed "arthritis" and a COPD clown who is lazy and has no self-respect. You give them a pass and feel sorry for them, not me.

 

[drstock]

Although some people abuse the system, and should have the self-esteem not to do so, most of the people in the video don't look particularly fat to me. There is so much generalisation going on in this thread.

 

[malko]

Although some people abuse the system, and should have the self-esteem not to do so, most of the people in the video don't look particularly fat to me. There is so much generalisation going on in this thread.

Or dare I say " A lot of projection going on in this thread " ?😆😆

 

[Tom0910]

Someone that can't remain standing for too long until their hips begin to hurt will need a wheelchair in an airport. Just the check-in area and the immigration area often requires waiting in line long enough for the pain to return if they are standing during the entire waiting time. Such person wouldn't look unable to walk or even have a problem from the outside looking in. It isn't that they can't walk, it is that unlike most people standing/walking for a time causes thrm to feel uncomfortable. The average person given a long enough standing time the most they develop are sore feet.

Point is that unless someone has accurate information of what affects every person, most people are clueless. That's not to say that there aren't people that abuse the system, but not everyone that seems as fine as most people is as fine. Add to that that Dominicans tend to be stubborn people that their stomach could be hurting and they say they are fine. This stubborness increases with age.

this is 100% true. When I was 340+ pounds I could not walk far enough to manage JFK or MIA so I used the service but I was honestly guilt ridden because I was otherwise healthy. Now that I've lost 120+ pounds and walk three miles a day I do it with ease.

 

[CristoRey]

and to answer the OP's original question, "Out Of Control?"
Yes.

I have traveled the world over, thru much busier airports on much larger airplanes, several times the last 3 decades and if you were to base it on a per capita average, this service is definitely being abused.