The February 2022 Air Journey Client Report launched as we speak comprises information on the variety of wheelchairs transported and mishandled by airways throughout 2021, the third full 12 months such information has been accessible.

The chart above lists the overall variety of wheelchairs and scooters carried by every of the ten main U.S. airways and their branded codeshare companions from January 2021 via December 2021. Delta Air Traces carried the most important variety of wheelchairs and scooters in 2021, with a complete of 150,555.

Collectively, all reporting carriers transported a complete of 532,306 wheelchairs and scooters in the course of the 2021 calendar 12 months. The full wheelchairs carried in 2021 was 22% fewer than the 2019 peak of 685,792, however almost double the 2020 complete of 268,676.

The worldwide pandemic has had an incredible influence on accessible journey demand, with 57% of disabled vacationers figuring out as excessive threat for severe problems because of the coronavirus, as reported within the 2020 Accessible Journey Research. Following a partial restoration in 2021, demand for accessible journey is predicted to additional improve in 2022, maybe reaching 2019 ranges.

Though a considerable variety of vacationers — greater than half 1,000,000 — flew with their very own wheelchair in 2021, disabled persons are nonetheless underrepresented amongst airline passengers. Full-time wheelchair customers account for greater than 1% of the U.S. inhabitants, however signify lower than 0.1% of the greater than 632 million passengers enplaned by reporting carriers final 12 months.

As an rising variety of boundaries deny disabled individuals the chance to fly safely and with dignity, larger motion by governments, regulators and accessibility advocates is important. Advocates shouldn’t relaxation till disabled individuals obtain the identical freedom of motion granted to non-disabled individuals. We received’t have enough inclusion till the overall variety of private wheelchairs and scooters carried on airplanes is measured within the hundreds of thousands (or tens of hundreds of thousands), and the world is opened to everybody.

Maintain advocating and maintain flying!