Miranda Shields and Justin Walker’s trip to Richmond, Virginia for the National Wheelchair Basketball Association National Championships wasn’t perfect.
Walker, who plays on the Phoenix Suns D2 wheelchair team, said when he and his teammates arrived in Virginia, they found what his girlfriend (Shields) and fellow wheelchair basketball players described as a “300-piece jigsaw puzzle.” Baggage handlers were cutting the wheels off the frames of dozens of wheelchairs as they loaded them onto the plane.
“When we got there, they seemed completely unprepared for us. There was no communication from Denver like, ‘We just packed up the world’s biggest mess.'” Shields told USA TODAY. “All the wheels are off the chair and we don’t have any additional employees to help us.”
Video on social media shows Shields and Walker arriving in Richmond.
The Suns flew from Phoenix to Richmond via Denver on Southwest Airlines on April 10, and Shields said there were several other teams on the plane that were also participating in the tournament. She said tournament organizers had been in contact with Richmond’s airport operator and Southwest Airlines for months before the event to make sure everyone was ready, but the system still didn’t allow players to travel. It is said that there was confusion.
“We understand what we’re looking for and that we need to bring more than just regular passengers. That’s why we’re going ahead and communicating,” Walker told USA told TODAY. “The lack of knowledge is unreal. It’s just disgusting.”
Mr Shields said the scene on arrival in Richmond was very chaotic, with so many players and other travelers running up and down the jetway to retrieve the pieces of the dismembered wheelchair. Eventually, the gate staff called the police. Although some of the travelers in our group were not wheelchair users, some of those who brought their own wheelchairs were able to move around to some degree without the device, so we were able to work on getting things back on track. It’s done.
The situation did not improve at baggage claim.
“When we got to baggage claim, the people there were almost understaffed to handle this situation,” Shields said. Airport employees had told passengers that luggage had been taken off the plane to accommodate an unusually large number of wheelchairs, causing frustration for everyone in the arrivals hall.
“The way the passengers were yelling at us was insane. It was really bad. They were blaming everything on the wheelchair,” Shields said.
Southwest Airlines Richmond Airport management sent an email to team captains and event organizers acknowledging the incident.
“We wanted to apologize to our team for the long delays and negative experiences we experienced arriving here at RIC over the past two days. We have been in contact with all cities involved in your travel plans for over a month. Our goal was to make your travel experience as smooth as possible, said an email reviewed by USA TODAY.
In a separate statement to USA TODAY, Southwest Airlines said it is working to improve.
“We have reviewed the situation and addressed the appropriate parties. We value our customers and are incorporating their feedback to ensure a better experience the next time you fly with Southwest Airlines.” It is stated here. “We always apologize if we do not meet customer expectations, and we have a long history of valuing our customers.”
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Seals and Walker’s statements were not sufficient, saying they encountered similar problems on their way home after connecting at Chicago Midway.
“To me, it’s the employees and ground staff at Southwest Airlines not listening,” Walker said. “If we have to listen to them about how many exits there are on a plane, if we have to listen to them about what to do and what not to do, they don’t listen to what we say. You should have the decency to listen.”
Shields and Walker both said they would like to see Southwest improve communication with travelers with disabilities and provide more detailed training for baggage handlers who handle mobility devices. .
US airlines damage thousands of mobility devices each year
The Department of Transportation says Mr. Shields and Mr. Walker’s experiences are by no means an outlier. In 2023, U.S. airlines transported 835,327 wheelchairs and other mobility aids last year, with 11,527 reported injuries. This works out to a rate of 1.38 pieces of equipment damaged per 100 pieces of equipment transported.
While this is a slight improvement compared to 2022 statistics, advocates say even one incident of damage to a mobility device is one too many, and if airlines want to insist that all travelers have access. , is calling for this number to be reduced to zero.
Zach Wictor is a travel writer for USA TODAY based in New York. Please contact us at zwichter@usatoday.com.
