I recently flew home to Austin from Rome in what turned into a 23-hour travel day (lots of delays). I was exhausted and not a small part of that was because that leg of the trip was my first time flying all by myself with my wheelchair. My daughter and I had traveled to Italy together, but she got to stay for a summer school program as I made my way back home. I assume there will be many more times I will fly by myself, this just happened to be the first time. But I can say, it was a bit of a culture shock returning to the United States.
While there are many ways that Italy is not wheelchair accessible (cobblestones everywhere, inconsistent curb cuts, steps to get into most stores and restaurants…) it has fantastic social service programs in place for accessibility. Everywhere official (transport stations, museums, monuments) has clearly marked accessible routes, disabled people and their carer get in free pretty much everywhere, and if you request it ahead of time they will assign you helpers to navigate train stations and airports (to make sure the correct lifts onto the train are in place, take you through crowds with official ease, ensure you get access to disabled bathrooms (that are always free), and even ride with you on the journey to ensure you get off okay). Even random people on the street were super helpful. If my chair was having difficulty getting up a curb, there were always people jumping in to help out. If I ever got in a line to wait my turn, people were horrified and reminded me over and over again that wheelchair users go to the front of the line so they don’t have to navigate the switchbacks, the janitor at the airport stopped her cleaning and took it on herself to help me with the bathroom doors, the bathroom attendant at the Colosseum went off on a tirade on the girls using the handicapped restroom to put on make-up when I needed to use it (I have no idea what she was saying, but she was intense). There was just a society wide ethos of “we help the disabled” and systems in place to ensure the disabled get easy access so they don’t have to do the extra work of navigating systems not built for them.
Then I came back to the States. Having flown from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (Fiumicino) where there was a clearly marked easy handicapped access through check-in, security, and two helpers assigned to me at boarding, I got a bit spoiled at the ease of traveling by myself in a wheelchair. Then I arrived at Washington Dulles airport.
I’m not sure what was going on, but the airline took a half hour to get my wheelchair off the plane, so I was the last person off and therefore the last to get to customs. The security guard who had to take me down a maze of back hallways to get to the must-swipe-your-badge-to-use elevator down to customs was visibly annoyed at the inconvenience. I finally get to customs and see the huge room full of switchback lines and ask the TSA agent if there was a special line for wheelchairs and he laughed at me and in a super condescending voice said, “Are you an American citizen?, then you go in the citizen line.” It was a line of (what felt like) a bazillion switchbacks that often was not wide enough for a wheelchair and was nearly impossible to navigate as I was piled with luggage on my lap using my only hand to navigate the tight turns. Other passengers had to help me move the stanchions while the TSA agents leaned against the wall showing each other videos on their phone.
I finally get through customs then go to security where I have to wait in a similar line – which was split in two. At the start of it I asked the TSA agent if either line was easier for a wheelchair and she replied that they were both the same. I lucked out in my choice of line apparently, since the other line had multiple columns in it blocking the path for wheelchairs. When I finally made it to the front of the security line they pulled me to the side and made me wait another 15ish minutes until someone was free to do a full body grope/pat-down of me because I was in a wheelchair.
By this time my next flight was starting to board. I finally got out of security to find my gate for the next flight had been changed to the next terminal over, so I rushed there without getting to stop for food or water. I get there with minutes to spare to find the ramp entrance being used to store wheelchairs which they had to move out of the way to get me on. And then (of course) the plane sat on the runway for 4 hours before we took off during which time I had no access to food or water. They did let the passengers de-plane if they wanted, but my wheelchair had already been checked. While I did have my cane, by that point in the day my body was so far past exhausted I knew I could barely stand much less walk to some restaurant. (sorry for no pictures, given the current political situation, I did not feel safe having my phone turned on while entering U.S. customs)
I understand the idea behind trying to treat everyone the same and not letting anyone have an advantage of “cutting the line.” But if you are going to set up the system that way, please make sure the space is fully accessible. Sometimes it saves space and time for everyone if the handful of wheelchairs just get to go directly to the front instead of having to navigate the very tight switchback lines. I know the few times I have had to go through customs at the Austin airport that is more the norm. At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport if you arrive from another country, you usually end up having to walk/roll through what feels like the entire airport, going up and down levels on multiple elevators before you get to baggage claim. After you get your bags you then go to a room with the long customs line, but wheelchair users (and one companion only) have a separate, easier to navigate, line off to the right of the room.
Because that is an easier set-up, usually when I am booking international flights, I do my best to fly directly into Austin. But sadly, Austin isn’t large enough of a town to have direct international flights to many destinations, so for this Italy trip I had to stop in Washington D.C on my way home. I wasn’t expecting the added hassle their set-up presented, but I made it work.
What has been your experiences with navigating customs at US airports with a wheelchair?
