Report cards
The largest U.S. airlines must report statistics on lost or damaged wheelchairs and scooters to the U.S. Department of Transportation under a new law that took effect in December 2019. The federal agency, in turn, releases those figures monthly as part of its Air Travel Consumer Report. GateHouse Media has tallied the data since January 1, 2019* to create a report card showing each airline’s record. It also includes the airline’s national ranking and what the airline had to say about their figures.
We hope to expand this report card to include new information we uncover during the course of our continued reporting on this topic. As a traveler, what more do you want to know? Email your ideas to Reporter Jayme Fraser.
*We excluded December 2018 data because some airlines reported problems with their figures that month.
Read airlines’ full responses to our questions about damaged mobility aids here.
U.S. Department of Transportation: What are your rights when traveling with an assistive device?
U.S. Department of Transportation: File a federal complaint about a mishandled medical aid or other civil rights issues.
If you’ve ever taken a chair or scooter on a commercial flight, please take our short survey to help guide future stories on this topic.