Southwest Passenger Accuses Fliers of Lying About Wheelchairs

For some reason, there are people at the airport who want to board their plane before every other passenger. Why anyone would want to spend any more time than they have to in a confined cabin seat may seem like a psychotic way to spend their time to some, but there are folks who will go to extreme lengths to make sure they’re the first to board.

Typically, if you want priority seating on a plane, you’ll have to fork over some extra coin in order to do so, but there are concessions made for fliers who are with young children, and also for those who have disabilities.

And a Twitter user named Paul (@trendready) believes he spotted some passengers getting ready to board a Southwest Airlines flight seated in wheelchairs despite not necessarily needing them to get on the plane.

Paul outright accused several of these passengers of attempting to “scam” their way into boarding early in a photo he uploaded to Twitter that shows several people sitting in wheelchairs as they wait to be boarded on their plane.

He writes in a caption for the tweet: “Pre-boarding scam at @SouthwestAir 20 passengers boarding using a wheelchair and probably only 3 need one to deplane.”

The drama didn’t stop with the tweet, however, as he posted a follow-up reply to his own social media post stating that the flight was ultimately canceled and he was out $140 for “roundtrip Uber fare.”

When Southwest customer support responded in the Twitter thread stating that they appreciated Paul’s Feedback, he responded by stating that passengers who require wheelchair assistance should be made to stay inside of the airplane and allow all other fliers to deplane first.

The phenomenon Paul is referring to is known as “miracle flights,” a tongue-in-cheek criticism of folks who are suspected of lying about physical conditions that necessitate them to be wheeled to their gate.

The term has been derived from passengers who pretend to have a physical ailment that prevents them from walking without assistance but can then pop up the second the plane lands, grab their luggage from an overhead bin and then stroll out of the airplane and into the airport unassisted.

One commenter who responded to Paul’s post suggested that folks who want to fly and receive physical assistance because of their handicap should have legitimate documentation proving that they are indeed legally disabled.

“My mate has a 12-year-long disease that’s seriously limited her mobility, so maybe a solution is to require a legit “Handicap” placard present at check-in.

Chances are they’ll need it anyway when they land. Does that seem fair and reasonable?” they wrote.

Southwest responded to Paul’s follow-up tweet about maintaining the integrity of the boarding process for folks with legitimate disabilities, stating that they are unable to question the validity of anyone’s ailments as some disabilities are not readily visible.

“We’re sorry for any disappointment, Paul. We work hard to maintain the integrity of the boarding process while providing appropriate accommodations for all who fly. Since many disabilities aren’t visible, we’re unable to question the validity of preboarding,” a rep from the airline wrote on Twitter.

In a follow-up tweet, Paul stated that he saw another group of people participating in what he also believed was a mass wheelchair scam after a family of 5 accompanied an elderly woman walking into a plane.

He tagged Southwest in the tweet, writing: “The wheelchair scam continues this morning. How do a family of ‘C’ boarding Pre-board? Get grandma to sit in a wheelchair. Now the whole family (5) gets to accompany her.”

Have you ever boarded a “miracle flight” and saw a passenger who needed help boarding with a wheelchair, only to walk themselves out to deplane?