Deanna Vaillancort-Thompson informed USA TODAY over the summer time that she was fearful about flying once more after her guide wheelchair was broken in April on an American Airways flight, and it seems her considerations had been well-founded.
In December, she flew from San Francisco to Orlando, Florida, and again with Delta Air Strains, and her new energy chair was destroyed throughout the journey.
“My wheelchair was brand-spankin’ new,” she stated.
On three of the 4 legs of her journey, Vaillancort-Thompson stated her wheelchair was dealt with completely. From San Francisco to Atlanta and Atlanta to Orlando, after which from Orlando to Salt Lake Metropolis on the way in which residence, “Delta principally white gloved my wheelchair all the way in which there,” she stated. “There wasn’t even a scratch on my wheelchair.”
However when she arrived in San Francisco on the finish of her journey on Dec. 7, her wheelchair was now not operable.
She stated the joystick was hanging from its harness and cracked, and the body was so bent the chair was just about unusable.
Vaillancort-Thompson stated it took greater than a month – till Jan. 24 – and quite a few telephone requires Delta and its gadget restore contractor Scootaround to interchange her chair and an Apple AirTag that was misplaced in transit. She stated the airline agreed to provide her and her husband every $500 in credit score for future journey, and a customer support agent promised the corporate would converse to the luggage handlers in San Francisco to bolster the significance of treating wheelchairs with care.
Delta acknowledged the incident in a press release to USA TODAY.
“Whereas nearly all of scooters and wheelchairs enplaned by Delta are dealt with with care, we perceive the frustration that comes after we fall quick. We apologize for this buyer’s expertise and have since delivered a substitute wheelchair and provided extra compensation in an effort to make issues proper,” the assertion stated.
For Vaillancort-Thompson, two incidents of wheelchair injury in lower than a yr make her fear much more about touring and make her particularly cautious of bringing her new energy chair on a flight.
She’s making ready for a visit to a service canine conference this spring and stated she’s already fearful about what would possibly occur in transit.
“I want the airways would get slightly bit extra educated and take slightly extra compassion after they take care of medical gear like this,” she stated. “If I didn’t have to make use of my chair in South Carolina, I in all probability wouldn’t take it.”
Greater than 30 disabled vacationers shared their tales of mobility gadget injury with USA TODAY in 2023, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pledged enhancements in wheelchair dealing with, whilst airways proceed to wreck greater than 10,000 units per yr on common.
Zach Wichter is a journey reporter for USA TODAY primarily based in New York. You possibly can attain him at zwichter@usatoday.com
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