A non-traveller helping a traveller get to gate at Pearson - any options?

[peacefrogdog]

This is not specific to Orlando nor Disney.

My recently windowed mother in law will be flying out of Pearson on her own to go back home to the east coast of Canada. She will be fine once she is at the gate, on the plane and once she lands. However with her being from a small town, navigating the complexity of Pearson will be challenging for her. She's not great at directions and gets flustered easily.She is mobile, and has very mild memory issues but is otherwise fine mentally.

I see there are services you can hire to help with this but are pricey. Airlines seem to offer assistance to people with physical impairments, but seemingly not for the reason we are looking for help. I looks like a while back Pearson used to provide visitor gate passes to allow non-travellers to accompany a traveller through security but not board a plane, but this ended during COVID when restricting people in airports, and never came back.

Does anyone know of any options to accompany her through security and to the gate, beyond buying an actual ticket?

 

[LuvOrlando]

I would think contacting, calling and explaining you have a grief stricken elderly person might get some extra TLC from the airline or airport. People can be kind if you call ahead and ask for assistance, it's asking in person out of the blue that generally gets sidelined

https://support.torontopearson.com/support/home

 

[bwr827]

If you call and don’t get some assistance, I’d suggest walking her to the security line, and providing a map that shows the area of security to her gate.

Add brief instructions, like “After security, take the escalator down. Now you’re on the domestic departures level. Your gate is D44. Go left, and take note of the various gate signs increasing in number.”

You could even have her call you on her mobile phone after she is through security. Then you could talk her through it.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Speaking from the US, I sometimes have to help someone at the airport who has similar issues to your MIL. I always work with the airline, not the airport. I speak with someone and get the ticket record documented & flagged as “needs escort assistance to gate due to cognitive issues”. I provide my info for the record and the airline agrees to provide me a security pass so I can escort through security and to the gate. When we check in, the traveler gets a boarding pass & I get a security gate pass. Sometimes it flags for extra screening, sometimes not. I don’t know if your airline would be able to help in this way, hopefully so. With my situation, they seem to appreciate the family escort.

 

[ronandannette]

Speaking from the US, I sometimes have to help someone at the airport who has similar issues to your MIL. I always work with the airline, not the airport. I speak with someone and get the ticket record documented & flagged as “needs escort assistance to gate due to cognitive issues”. I provide my info for the record and the airline agrees to provide me a security pass so I can escort through security and to the gate. When we check in, the traveler gets a boarding pass & I get a security gate pass. Sometimes it flags for extra screening, sometimes not. I don’t know if your airline would be able to help in this way, hopefully so. With my situation, they seem to appreciate the family escort.

This. I've done it at YYC several times for a minor flying unescorted. I don't see any reason it wouldn't be available for an elder needing support also. You will need to go through security so make sure you're not carrying anything in your purse or pockets that might be a problem.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Just book her wheelchair assistance. There are lots of people that are able bodied but just can't make the distance to the gate. The airline will not ask what the issue is for the chair. Legally no one can ask what your disabilities are in any setting.

I finally convinced my mom (she's 84) to use the wheelchair assist in the airport and after doing it she said she should have done it sooner. Just for context, my mom lives in her own house, drives, shops, gardens, cleans the house etc etc. So very able bodied but the long walk to the gates at the airport can give her pain.

 

[samsteele]

Wheelchair assistance is likely the way to go. If all else fails, write clearly and simply on a note paper to 1) look overhead or on wall for gate numbers and 2) go into any shop or food counter and ask for help and directions. Pearson's staff are excellent and as long as the servers aren't slammed they will take the time to point out directions. If she has a cell phone, then printing your number on the note to call you may also alleviate a little anxiety until she finds the right gate. If she's unsure if she's at the right gate, then approaching fellow travelers sitting at that gate and asking is a simple but easy step. Most people are helpful and will try their best.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

Wheelchair assistance is definitely the way to go. Your mother would be cheerfully taken from checkin, through security (and Customs, if necessary) right to her departure gate. She can request a washroom stop, if necessary. She can keep the wheelchair with her once they reach the gate, and use is as a walker if she wants to move around a bit.

Having requested this assistance, she will be boarded with those requiring “a little extra time to board” and can opt to walk down the jetway to the plane, or ride. This is a real help if she wishes to bring a carry-on bag and she’d be assured of finding room in the overhead compartments. It is also nice to have a few minutes to find and settle into your seat before the aisle is congested with fellow passengers. Even if your mother could manage all of this on her own on a good day, this must is definitely a very sensitive and mentally exhausting time in her life. Having someone assigned to deliver her safely to her gate is a very good idea. Airlines provide this service at no charge, but it should be arranged as soon as possible. You can do it when making her reservation, possibly through her reservation after the fact, or by calling the airline.

 

[peacefrogdog]

Thanks for this. We felt uneasy about requesting wheelchair assistance when she is able to walk, but it sounds like it's not an unreasonable request. FYI - I heard back from all of Pearson, AC and WJ. Pearson essentially said it's up to the airlines, both of whom said we can make a request the day of the flight at the check in desk to allow someone to go with her through security and to the gate. However neither guaranteed this is possible and that it is up to agent. As it will be over the Xmas holiday break, I'm guessing the workers will be cranky (Air Canada more so than Westjet).

As I type this, I realize it may be less burdensome for her to fly out of Billy Bishop .

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

We used wheelchair assistance for my MIL (81 years old) as she has never flown by herself and is very anxious to go it alone. She was flying Moncton - Orlando. We booked the wheelchair assistance directly with the airline (Air Transat). There was no charge.

 

[peacefrogdog]

We used wheelchair assistance for my MIL (81 years old) as she has never flown by herself and is very anxious to go it alone. She was flying Moncton - Orlando. We booked the wheelchair assistance directly with the airline (Air Transat). There was no charge.

Thanks. Does your MIL typically need a wheelchair (for example , if she was travelling with family). I would not want to take away a Wheelchair from someone who needs it more due to physical limitations.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

Thanks. Does your MIL typically need a wheelchair (for example , if she was travelling with family). I would not want to take away a Wheelchair from someone who needs it more due to physical limitations.

No, she's 100% mobile with no physical limitations. We opted for this service as our friend (Air Canada flight attendant) advised us of this service. She's never flown alone, let alone navigated a busy airport by herself and is extremiely anxious.

I'll add that we called the airlines in advance of her flight to make sure it was noted on her booking. We requested it be added to her return flight as well. I wouldn't advise waiting until check-in to see if it's available.

 

[redrosesix]

Thanks for this. We felt uneasy about requesting wheelchair assistance when she is able to walk, but it sounds like it's not an unreasonable request. FYI - I heard back from all of Pearson, AC and WJ. Pearson essentially said it's up to the airlines, both of whom said we can make a request the day of the flight at the check in desk to allow someone to go with her through security and to the gate. However neither guaranteed this is possible and that it is up to agent. As it will be over the Xmas holiday break, I'm guessing the workers will be cranky (Air Canada more so than Westjet).

As I type this, I realize it may be less burdensome for her to fly out of Billy Bishop .

There is no reason not to get assistance for her, and having worked in an airport over Christmas I can tell you it's busy but it's also a magical time. Most people who are traveling are seeing family for the first time in months or years.

Most flight attendants are more than happy to assist anyone who needs it, and her age alone is enough to justify it. When my mother still traveled she got assistance at each airport including connections, even in her 70s. But we always had this flagged on her ticket from the time we purchased it, and reconfirmed everything with the airline at check in.

 

[peacefrogdog]

There is no reason not to get assistance for her, and having worked in an airport over Christmas I can tell you it's busy but it's also a magical time. Most people who are traveling are seeing family for the first time in months or years.

Most flight attendants are more than happy to assist anyone who needs it, and her age alone is enough to justify it. When my mother still traveled she got assistance at each airport including connections, even in her 70s. But we always had this flagged on her ticket from the time we purchased it, and reconfirmed everything with the airline at check in.

Thanks so much for this perspective. It would be her first flight travelling without her husband, and she (for unclear reasons) refuses to use a cellphone. So knowing an airlines attendant will be with her is reassuring.

 

[redrosesix]

Thanks so much for this perspective. It would be her first flight travelling without her husband, and she (for unclear reasons) refuses to use a cellphone. So knowing an airlines attendant will be with her is reassuring.

My mother won't get a cellphone either...and I think it would be even more handy for her than most people. But on her last few flights she was brought from the plane to Arrivals by one of her flight attendants in a wheelchair and we had to collect her bags...not that she really needed a wheelchair except for the fact that all airports are huge and she was quite slow.

You said she's coming back east? Which airport is she flying into?...somebody may be able to post tips. I'm only familiar with the Halifax airport.

 

[peacefrogdog]

My mother won't get a cellphone either...and I think it would be even more handy for her than most people. But on her last few flights she was brought from the plane to Arrivals by one of her flight attendants in a wheelchair and we had to collect her bags...not that she really needed a wheelchair except for the fact that all airports are huge and she was quite slow.

You said she's coming back east? Which airport is she flying into?...somebody may be able to post tips. I'm only familiar with the Halifax airport.

She's flying from Pearson to Halifax. Growing up there I feel more confident in her ability to navigate Stanfield where our relatives will greet her on arrivals. It's the Pearson navigation that had us worried.

 

[redrosesix]

She's flying from Pearson to Halifax. Growing up there I feel more confident in her ability to navigate Stanfield where our relatives will greet her on arrivals. It's the Pearson navigation that had us worried.

You're right....the layout of the Halifax airport has never changed and you can follow the other passengers like a lemming and get yourself to Domestic Arrivals. There is an elevator that is easy to miss, but it's a good option if she doesn't like escalators or they are broken down. If she is getting assistance they'll take the elevator.

Pearson scares me, partly because I try to avoid connecting there and every time I go back it has been renovated again. Twice I've had to ask for help from Information and both times they gave me the wrong directions. So since she's flying out of Pearson definitely take the help...the airline will make sure she gets to her plane because they always know where they own gates are.