Every day in America, airlines break about 31 wheelchairs. Earlier this year, mine was one of them.
I watched as an Aer Lingus employee rolled my wheelchair up the jet bridge — and hours later, in Dublin on a study abroad trip, it was returned to me broken. When an airline damages a wheelchair, it doesn’t just break the equipment; it flips someone’s life upside down. Mobility aids are extensions of our bodies and can determine our independence.
Making claims, dealing with the delays in approvals and the back-and-forth with insurance and the airline is exhausting. Doing this all while trying to live daily life with broken or compromised equipment can be next to impossible.
Some wheelchair users report going months without proper repairs, as I experienced. Airlines are required to provide loaner wheelchairs, but many passengers report delays or insufficient temporary replacements that don’t meet their mobility needs.
It has been 10 months since Aer Lingus broke my wheelchair, and I am still fighting for full compensation.
What happened to me is not rare — it’s part of a larger, preventable pattern of neglect across the airline industry.
The Department of Transportation’s data shows that airlines damaged or lost 11,527 wheelchairs and scooters in 2023. This is approximately 31 mobility devices every single day, representing real people whose lives are being disrupted.
The disparity in how airlines treat wheelchairs versus luggage shows a fundamental failure of prioritization.
Airlines transport millions of pieces of luggage annually with a damage rate of 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2024 – a rate of 0.63%. With technology improvements, airlines use tracking systems, AI-powered analytics and take extraordinary precautions with valuable items. Yet wheelchairs, with their 1.22 percent mishandling rate, are damaged at more than twice the rate of regular luggage.
Employee training is a core part of the problem. Baggage handlers typically lack specialized knowledge of how to handle complex medical devices. In 2023, a viral video showed an American Airlines baggage handler letting a wheelchair slide down a jet bridge chute. The rushed pace with airplane turnaround means that wheelchairs get rushed, dropped and improperly stored.
The airline industry’s reluctance to take accountability shows how widespread this issue has grown. Rather than treating wheelchair damage as an issue necessitating urgent action, airlines have determined that paying compensation claims will be less expensive than enacting systemic changes.
The Biden administration recognized the need for change. In December 2024, it finalized regulations that require airlines to promptly provide loaner wheelchairs, notify passengers of their rights and face presumed liability for damaged devices unless they could prove otherwise.
Airlines claimed these regulations imposed unreasonable expenses and difficulties on them. American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United filed a lawsuit challenging the policy. They argued that the presumed liability standard was unjust and that training requirements were overly strict.
In September 2025, the Trump administration stopped enforcing the regulation, citing the need for appointed officials to determine whether it is in line with the administration’s practices.
The timing was devastating because just as the regulation was about to go into effect and provide more accountability, it was abruptly stopped. This decision puts airline convenience over the rights of disabled travelers.
Our policymakers must act now. The Department of Transportation must immediately reinstate and enforce the Biden-era wheelchair safety regulations, including the presumed liability standard that holds airlines accountable unless they can prove proper handling.
Congress should mandate annual hands-on training for all baggage handlers who interact with wheelchairs, requiring them to work directly with various wheelchair models and receive feedback from disabled passengers themselves.
Airlines should invest in better equipment to handle wheelchairs. Specialized lift systems, protective covers and designated secure storage areas in cargo holds could prevent a lot of current damage scenarios.
Certain wheelchairs should never be placed in cargo holds in the first place. For many passengers, the risk of damage would be eliminated if more wheelchairs could be accommodated in the cabin through modifications to aircraft design.
Airlines have had decades to treat mobility aids as cargo. It’s time the government — and airline customers — demand they treat it as human dignity.
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
