JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty says some travelers use wheelchair assistance to jump airport lines, raising a painful dilemma: airlines are legally required to provide the service, but policing abuse could leave staff with impossible choices and risk hurting pass
When JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty started talking about wheelchair assistance at U.S. airports, she didn’t frame it as a policy tweak. She described a live problem she says has moved beyond a few bad actors—one she worries airlines will struggle to fix without stepping on the rights of travelers who genuinely need help.
Speaking earlier this month during an interview with the Boston public radio station WBUR’s “Breakfast Club. ” Geraghty said U.S. law requires airlines to provide wheelchair assistance to passengers who request it at the airport. She added that airlines generally cannot ask questions beyond logistics or clarity about the assistance request.
But Geraghty said there is “a group of folks that use wheelchairs to get to the front of the line, and not for legitimate reasons.”
In the same interview. she put a number on what she says this looks like on certain routes: “We have certain flights that have 23 to 25 customers with wheelchairs. ” she said. “And. frankly. nobody wants to try to address some of those challenges because it’s a very tough situation to navigate. both politically. but also just heart.”.
Her comments landed on a long-running tension in U.S. air travel—often discussed as “miracle flights”—where able-bodied travelers request wheelchairs to reduce security and boarding lines. then walk off at the destination. The central friction is whether those requests are a legitimate accommodation for mobility needs or an abuse of a system built to help passengers clear an airport without being left behind.
All Wheels Up founder and president Michele Erwin argues that enforcement is where the industry hits a wall. She told Business Insider that there are few solutions. Erwin said she has seen airlines discuss the abuse behind the scenes and try to tackle it within the law. but there is virtually no way to verify who does or does not have a disability without asking for legally protected information.
She also pointed to the cost of each wheelchair push, saying airlines lose money every time someone abuses the system. “It’s not great for either side; we’re all living in a gray area,” Erwin said.
That “gray area” is no abstract debate for airlines that handle thousands of wheelchairs across their networks. Former Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said in 2024 that the ultra-low-cost airline was seeing a “massive. rampant abuse” of special services. adding that it costs $30 to $35 per wheelchair request.
The issue is not limited to one airport culture. The ex-CEO of London’s Heathrow Airport said in 2022 that some travelers were using wheelchair assistance to “fast-track” through airports after seeing it recommended on TikTok.
Southwest’s own operational history has also been cited as a possible incentive. Several reports say Southwest’s former open-seating system—where boarding order was determined by check-in time—may have encouraged some passengers to request wheelchair assistance in order to secure a better seat.
But even if airlines decide they want to crack down. Erwin warned that policing abuse could create new harm for passengers who rely on wheelchairs. including cases unrelated to mobility. She described scenarios where a traveler boards with a wheelchair and later walks off the plane but still needs help navigating a big. unfamiliar airport. She also said some travelers may be mobile but simply exhausted after flying for 24 hours across time zones.
In those situations, Erwin said, treating the person as if they experienced a “medical miracle in-flight” ignores the broader context.
Retired Delta captain Mark Stephens echoed the caution. He said he’s aware wheelchair abuse happens, but warned that people should not start questioning anyone using one in an airport “on the off chance that they might be lying,” saying “Many people are disabled with things we cannot see.”
Behind the dispute over fairness is a system that already struggles to deliver service consistently.
Geraghty acknowledged those shortfalls as well. During the same interview, she said, “In general, I don’t think the airline industry does a great job with our customers with disabilities.”
Transportation Department data shows there were about 43,500 disability-related complaints among all U.S. airlines in 2024. More than half of the complaints were about failure to provide wheelchair service—such as insufficient staff or leaving someone behind. Erwin suggested that abuse may be part of the problem. because each extra wheelchair request pulls workers away from passengers who truly need assistance.
The debate also circles back to timing and planning, not just intent. Erwin said part of the issue comes when travelers don’t notify the airline in advance that they will need wheelchair assistance. She said airports can become overwhelmed by unexpected last-minute requests. leaving staff stretched too thin and resulting in slower or worse service.
“That’s where All Wheels Up comes in,” Erwin said. “To educate the community.”
Passengers can typically request a wheelchair during the booking process or add it later. Airlines are responsible for providing disability access services, but the assistants who perform these duties on their behalf are usually employed by third-party contractors.
Geraghty said airlines could do more if passengers had more opportunities to pre-plan. “If we could isolate out the folks who truly needed help, I think we could do a far, far, far better job with it.”
The pressure on the ground is not just reputational; it’s operational. Airports and airlines have experimented with ways to reduce strain, including deploying autonomous wheelchairs. Erwin encourages people to use them. pointing to examples such as Detroit deploying autonomous wheelchairs to transport passengers to their gates without an attendant.
The takeaway from Geraghty’s remarks is stark: wheelchair assistance is legally required. and the industry can’t simply apply suspicion at the counter without risking the very people the system is meant to protect. What airlines and advocates are left with is a hard question—how to prevent misuse while still treating disability assistance as a service that has to work in real time. for real travelers—some visible. some not. and all of them trying to get through an airport under the same ticking clock of lines and limited staff.
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