10/08/2025
I hope this counts as evidence for my asylum claim due to me being in a wheelchair
I dont know how I missed this last week.
And I don’t have words to describe how angry I am.
TLDR summary:
“The U.S. Transportation Department said [last] Monday that it will not enforce key provisions of a rule issued in December by former President Joe Biden's administration that requires new consumer protections for disabled passengers using wheelchairs.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and airline trade group Airlines for America filed suit in February challenging the rule that set stricter standards for accommodating passengers with wheelchairs. The rule also requires carriers to reimburse passengers for damage to wheelchairs.
USDOT said in a filing it is writing a new rule and will not enforce the requirements imposing airline liability for mishandled wheelchairs or a requirement for airlines to reimburse passengers using wheelchairs the difference between a fare on a flight taken and the fare the passenger would have paid on a flight if their wheelchair could have fit in the cabin or cargo compartment of a different aircraft.”
So glad the DOT thinks people with wheelchairs don’t deserve the right to have their mobility device protected. Guess how much effort will be made to ensure mobility devices aren’t broken when there is no consequence?
Just when progress was being made.
So to recap:
Airplanes are not made for people with disabilities to be able to get on and off on their own.
I have to rely on an airline to get me on and off safely and store my wheelchair on the plane safely.
Then hope they return it to me in working order.
With zero accountability or incentive for them to make sure I get my wheelchair back in one piece.
And if my chair is lost or damaged, I’m the only one who has a consequence for someoneel elses negligence.
And now I just have to hope airlines are going to keep my chair safe and have no recorse or protection if they don’t.
Awesome.
For the record, not that I owe anyone an explanation, I did not vote for Trump for this very reason. I was quite certain, based on the way he treated and talked about people with disabilities, that he was going to undo a lot of disability laws. I normally love when I’m right.
https://www.reuters.com/world/usdot-will-not-enforce-biden-wheelchair-passenger-protection-rule-2025-09-29/
