Member-only story
Do Able-bodied Passengers Really Fake Disabilities so They Can Board the Plane First or is this Just a Myth?
And why should we care?
“I just got off the miracle flight from Ft Lauderdale to Detroit,” a friend just posted on Facebook. “Fourteen people in wheelchairs boarded in Florida, then got up and walked off the plane in Detroit. It’s a Miracle!!”
He was calling out able-bodied people who take advantage of the rules that allow folks with disabilities to take a wheelchair to the gate and board the plane first.
Accommodating people who need extra time and extra help to board the plane is a good thing. But people who don’t actually need wheelchairs game the system by claiming that they do in order to board first and (1) grab a good seat, and/or (2) put their luggage in the overhead bin while there’s still plenty of room.
My friend was calling these fakers out by mocking them.
And of course, when he did, everyone who posted a response backed him up and cheered him on.
Ha Ha Just kidding.
The Miracle Flight. And the Outraged Pushback
What really happened is that all hell broke loose in the comments section.
