CURBSIDE CONUNDRUM
For some disabled travelers, getting around OKC’s Will Rogers World Airport can be a problem
Bob Allen has always been someone who can handle tough situations. He saw combat in Vietnam, ran a business and with the help of his guide dog, Shirley, gets around as good as anyone without sight could hope for.
But when Allen finds himself negotiating small- and mid-sized airports, like Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport, he and Shirley often meet their match.
Allen travels frequently. When he flies with his wife, there are no problems. But when he takes a taxi or Uber to Will Rogers, things become more difficult. His preferred airline used to have staff available to get him from the curb to the checkout counter. But now, all but one carrier serving Oklahoma City no longer provide curbside assistance to handicapped and elderly passengers. As good as
Shirley is, she has to work hard to find doors, and once inside, she doesn’t know Southwest from United from American.
The curb to the counter might not sound like a wide gulf to navigate. “We’re talking about 20 feet,” Allen said.
But if you’re blind or elderly, that space can be a gaping chasm.
Allen has had to call out to strangers who might be near him for assistance getting to the counter. Once there, the airline provides staff to get him to the gate and onto the plane.
Allen has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation and has been working with the Oklahoma Disability Law Center which assisted him in filing a grievance with the Oklahoma City Airport Trust.
Will Rogers World Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said the airport is familiar with Allen’s problems and will continue to try to work with him to resolve them.
“It is a challenge,” Carney said.
Airlines at midsize airports like Will Rogers have cut staff and services, Carney said.
Airlines at Will Rogers contract with different companies for skycaps and wheelchair runners. That means there’s no centralized system or number to call. And each airline has different training and requirements, Carney said.
Airport staff plan to renew their push for airlines to provide more clarity, and perhaps, more of their own staff to manage customers who have physical disabilities.
“It’s something we have had a lot of discussions about and we are committed to resolving it,” Carney said. “But it is a slow process.”
Carney said ultimately the bulk of the responsibility falls on the carriers.
“In our discussions with the airlines we remind them that the law requires them to provide assistance from the curbside to the gate,” she said.
Signs providing disabled people with numbers to call for assistance were placed outside the terminal building in December, Carney said.
Getting nowhere
Allen has tried to work with airlines. He provided recorded calls to customer service representatives to The Oklahoman for this story that he said are indicative of his problem. Many are exercises in futility and circular arguments that get nowhere, he said. Airlines maintain it’s the airport’s responsibility to assist the passenger. The airport believes it’s the airlines’ job.
In a sense, the space from where Allen is dropped off to where he checks his bag is a noman’s-land.
“It gets very frustrating,” he said. “I think everyone kind of cares. But it’s not an everyday problem for them.”
Before he flies, Allen calls the airline several days ahead of time to arrange for someone to meet him. It’s noted on his reservation, but most of the time, the promised staff never appears.
In one of the calls, an American Airlines employee casually suggested Allen just have his taxi or Uber driver walk him to the counter, but it has long been forbidden for unattended vehicles to be left in front of airports.
“If they do that it’s illegal,” Allen said. “No cab driver is going to do that.”
A $17 billion market
Open Doors, a nonprofit based in Chicago, works to ensure universal access to disabled travelers. Program director Katy Rosseland said Allen’s problem is common.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of finger-pointing that goes on,” she said. “Does service start at the terminal or does it start at the parking garage? That’s the question that seems to come up frequently. There is a clear service gap.”
Rosseland said while the Americans with Disabilities Act has helped improve access to transportation infrastructure in the United States, we still lag behind some other countries.
“I think Europe is more innovative than we are, especially with air travel. Everyone is involved in the airports and it is the airports that are responsible for providing services. It works better when everyone has a stake.”
There are 56.7 million people in the United States with disabilities, according to the 2010 census. Open Doors estimates disability travel generates more than $17 billion annually.
Of those who travel, 65 percent encounter obstacles at the airport, according to its study. But that number represents an improvement. A 2005 survey found 82 percent encountered problems.
“We are on the right path, but there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Rosseland said.
Getting noticed
Oklahoma Disability Law Center attorney Gary Taylor assisted Allen in filing the grievance with the airport trust.
“Everyone seems to be saying they want to help, but nobody seems willing to say, ‘We will fix it,’ ” he said.
Taylor said the even the grievance process provides few assurances.
“I really don’t know what the result would be,” he said. “Their rules say you need to file within 60 days of whatever it is you’re complaining about. They will conduct an investigation and within 60 days of its conclusion they will send a report with their conclusions. I’m afraid that in our experience nobody will take it on.”
Taylor said Allen’s problem falls under the purview of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He cited a current lawsuit filed by a man in Milwaukee against that city’s airport.
“I don’t think anyone questions whether or not the ADA covers it, but when confronted about what are you going to do about it, they’re saying it’s not their responsibility to comply,” Taylor said. “That’s the airlines’ response, and it’s the airports’ response. From what I can tell in the Milwaukee case it appears to be something similar to what is happening in OKC.”
The best long-term, permanent solution might be broader protections for the disabled that go beyond what the ADA already provides.
“I think the solution is probably federal legislation that requires airports to do this or at least determines who the responsible party is. It’s a little mushy when you go looking at who is responsible,” Taylor said.
Allen plans to continue to travel, but he would like the experience to be a little easier when he’s going through small and medium-sized airports. There are times when he is pessimistic whether things will ever get better.
“It’s not important enough for anyone but disabled people, therein lies the problem,” he said. Then, he grows defiant. “If we can make enough ruckus we can get something done,” he said.