Discussion about new TSA screening policies (as of November 2010)
This is a direct link to the official TSA (Transportation Security Administration) blog area with posts about passengers with disabilities.
It includes 2 stories about why they screen wheelchairs/passengers with wheelchair. It also indicates that the TSA works with a coalition of over 70 disability related groups who have assisted TSA in writing their policies for passengers with disabilities to help make sure people are thoroughly screened, but also treated with dignity and respect (their words).
I don't know whether or not the new patdown rules were brought to this coalition group or not, but if they did it in the past, there is good chance they will work on it in the future.
The TSA has a link to this story on
their official blog:
TSA apologizes to Michigan Man for Pat Down during which the TSA agents did not listen to the man and his urostomy bag was dislodged.
The blog also includes a recommendation for passengers with disabilities to
contact one of their Customer Service Managers
prior to travel to coordinate their screening before travel so their needs can be met.
And, if you want to complain or make a compliment, there is a feedback form on the page. So, it does sound like they are taking feedback seriously.
Link to thread/discussion about air travel screening started November 2010.
If possible, take a non-stop flight. A
direct flight may sound like it will get there without stopping, but direct flights may stop in other cities to pick up passengers before continuing to your final destination. A direct flight is just one where the
flight number does not change.
Links to information about Orlando Airport
Orlando airport website
Orlando - specific page about access for people with disabilities
Orlando - locations of Companion Restrooms (there is also a link in the specific page about disabilities.
Orlando - specific page about arrivals
Orlando - specific page about departures
Orlando - terminal maps and layouts
You can find DME (Disney Magical Express) Welcome Center in the Main Terminal Building, B side, Level 1.
(more info about DME on post 16). The way to DME is well marked with signs. You will pass the car rental counters and keep going to the end of the terminal building.
Links about air travel in general
Link to Air Carrier Access Act information page (ACAA covers air travel, not ADA)
Link to Department of Transportation: Text of Air Carrier Access Act in effect May 13, 2009
Link to new Air Carrier Access Act in effect in May 13, 2009. Page contains many links to parts of the act and may be easier than the previous link to find some things.
Thread about Transportation Disability Hotline: Information about rights
Thread about travel with wheelchair
TSA has instituted new lane arrangements to help streamline the security check process.
Here's a link to the TSA page about the new lines and how they work. And a picture of the lines at Orlando airport. The wheelchair line is to the far right.
Link to larger picture.
Link to TSA page about new AIT screening machines
Air Travel with Disabilities and Special Needs
there is a requirement that liquids (mouthwash, shampoo, etc.) be in bottles of 3 ounces or less and each passenger may not have more of these items than will fit in a 1 quart ziplock bag (available for free at the screening station at many airports).
The 3 ounces requirement does not apply to medications. You need to separate the medication and declare it, but that's not a problem.
Link to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Page titled Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions. That is an index page with links to other information.
Air Travel
American Diabetes Association has a good page about travel with diabetes - check out the links
TSA Page: Before You Go: hints for people with disabilities
TSA Page: Tips for the Screening Process - Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions
TSA page about travel with medication and medical devices.
TSA page about travel with CPAP machine.
TSA page: Military Severly Injured Program
TSA page about travel with children with disabilities
TSA page about travel with children - includes hints and video links. The one titled
Traveling with Kids shows the entire screening process from taking off shoes and putting things into the bin to what happens if you need additional screening. The one titled
Kids-to-Kids is children explaining the same information for other children.
Marie S's Going on an Airplane PEC book
What about Medical Equipment? Does it count as baggage?
As long as it is medical equipment and nothing else is packed with it - it will be counted as medical equipment without charge. With the new charges being added for bags, airlines are giving bags more scrutiny than before. I have heard of people putting a few pieces of their medical equipment into 3 or 4 bags filled with other items and then trying to claim all 3-4 bags as medical. Because of situations like that, airlines are more suspicious of bags claimed as medical. If you have only medical equipment in the bags, you should not have a problem.
Make a list of things you will need and then think about all of the things on your list.
Will you need them all during the flight?
How much/many of each will you need?
What if the flight is delayed?
What will you need soon after arriving?
What if the item gets delayed in arriving to you or gets damaged or lost? How long could you do without it? How difficult would it be to replace?
I would look at each item on your list with those questions. Carry on anything you can't do without for the duration of the flight and at least 8 hours after (longer if you think it would be difficult to replace or if you are arriving late in the day, when getting a hold of someone would be difficult).
Always carry on medication, things that are vital to you and anything that could not be replaced.
What if the airline loses something major? 
Airlines don't really lose that many pieces of baggage when you consider how much they transport each day. But, you don't want to take any chance on anything that is vital.
For some items, you can carry what you will need for the first 8-12 hours and then have additional supplies shipped to your resort. You should be able to work with your current suppliers to have the items shipped and that way they will be billed the 'normal' way. If your supplier does not have a branch in the Orlando area, they will probably have already dealt with getting stuff to Orlando and should be able to help you.
Can I take an oxygen tank on the plane?
No. You are not allowed to carry an oxygen tank on the plane. Each airline has a little different rules about how they do things, but the oxygen on a plane must be provided by the airline. Some airlines will not provide oxygen, but all do allow personal oxygen concentrators.
All airlines are now required to allow the use of portable oxygen concentrators that have been approved by FAA (subject to various requirements, such as that adequate batteries are brought). See 14 C.F.R. 382.133. (thanks to jsilvers for the clarification).
You will need to work with your current oxygen supplier to set up the oxygen in Orlando. Your current supplier should be able to help with all the respiratory supplies.
Here's a
link to a page that will help with information about travel with oxygen, including information about airlines and links/phone numbers to the airline websites. The links don't take you directly to the website's oxygen information and many don't have an easy way to find it. They all have some information, you just may have to search for it.
Has anyone had their child have a melt-down in flight?
You can't really tell how the child will react until you go. Keep in mind that no matter what happens, you will probably not be the first person that has had a child melt down. And, you may not even be the only one on your flight.
Also keep in mind the things that normally cause meltdowns for your child.
Think about how the child reacts to new things and how you usually prepare them.
With planning, you may be able to avoid the triggers for the most part. And, many of the things that work on the ground will work in the air too.
Sometimes it is recommended to try some medication to calm the child for the flight. If you plan to do this, try it out
before your flight. Some people will have a reaction or the medication will have the opposite expected effect on them - you don't want to find that out in flight.
Marie S's Going on an Airplane PEC book may give you some helpful ideas.
What about preboarding?
Some people like to preboard because it gives them an opportunity to get settled before other passengers get on. Others prefer to get on late in the boarding process so they don't have to sit on the plane so long. Depending on your flight/size of plane, you may be on board for close to an hour before take off if you preboard.
Ask the gate agent about preboarding as soon as you get to the gate.
What is gate checking and can I gate check a wheelchair?
Wheelchairs
can be gate checked. Ask about this as you check in for your flight. They may give you a gate check tag right away or tell you to check in with the gate agent for gate checking. When you get to the gate, tell the agent there that you want to preboard and ask about gate checking before they start loading. They used to automatically preboard anyone with a wheelchair, but don't always preboard any more unless you ask (some people with disabilities did not want to preboard and felt it discriminated against them to make them preboard).
You will be able to keep your wheelchair until the door of the plane, but wheelchairs are too wide to fit down the aisle. They do have smaller aisle wheelchairs available if you need one (scroll a little farther down for information about aisle chairs).
After getting out of the wheelchair, if there are things that stick out (like cupholders, etc that may be attached) or things that are not screwed or bolted on, it is best to remove and carry them on if you can. My DD's wheelchair seat and back have gel in them, to avoid any problems with them getting too cold or getting pierced during the flight, I remove them and carry them on. Her armrests just lift off, so I lift those off and carry them on too.
I actually carry a large nylon laundry bag to put the wheelchair pieces in after I remove them. The bag folds up very small into a pocket on one of our suitcases and putting things in it helps ensure I have not left anything at the gate. Some people take a picture of the wheelchair with their cell phone or digital camera to prove what condition it was when they left is at the gate. Contrary to popular belief, wheelchairs are not loaded in a separate baggage area; they are packed with other baggage, so damage is possible, although in at least once a year travel for over 20 years, the only damage DD's wheelchair has had was a bent antitip bar.
I've heard that airplanes are required to have space to store one wheelchair on board the plane. How does this work?
All 100 seat or more planes delivered to US airlines since 1992 are supposed to have a closet or alternate FAA approved place to store one folded wheelchair (first come, first serve).
IF the plane has a closet (some airplanes still flying were delivered before that time),
IF your wheelchair can be folded to fit into the area (some are too big)
and IF there is room in the closet when you board, you may put it in the closet/storage area.
Passenger's assistive devices/folded wheelchairs have priority over other over other passengers items brought on board
at the same airport. If you do not preboard and the space is filled when you get on the plane, then you are out of luck. Even if you preboard, the space may be filled with items brought on by travelers at an earlier stop.
The new Air Carrier Access Act (May 2009) also added this information:
If the wheelchair is too big for the space while fully assembled, but will fit if wheels or other parts can be removed without the use of tools, the carrier must remove the applicable components and stow the wheelchair in the designated space. The other parts must be stowed in the areas for stowage of carry-on luggage.
The closets/stowage areas are usually better suited for 'basic' foldable wheelchairs that will fold and fit into a fairly narrow space. The new guidelines add a size requirement that was not in previously - providing
"a space of 13 inches by 36 inches by 42 inches without having to remove the wheels or otherwise disassemble it."
This may be too small for some manual wheelchairs, even if wheels can be popped off.
I have taken DD's wheelchair apart and put it in the on-board storage space, but it really needs to pretty much be totally dis-assembled to fit.
So, if you want to try for on-board storage, ask as soon as you check in, pre-board and be prepared to gate check the wheelchair if it doesn't fit.
Using an Aisle Chair
My DD has CP and can't walk. She also can't sit well in any wheelchair except her own.
She stays in her wheelchair until we board (the one she travels with is a manual wheelchair, but it would work generally the same if we took her power chair).
The wheelchair is taken to the gate right to the door of the plane, where she is transferred into an aisle chair (shown in the pictures below). The chairs from different airlines may look a little different, but the basic design is the same. An aisle chair is basically a very narrow wheelchair that can fit down the aisle of the airplane.
Link to larger picture.
The wheelchair and aisle chair are parked tight next to each other, brakes locked and belts unfastened.
Link to larger picture.
The airline staff do a 2 person lift, with one person taking the top half and the other person the legs. They lift DD the short distance from her wheelchair (at the front of the picture) to the aisle chair in the background. Straps are fastened to keep the arms and legs in place and the aisle chair is rolled into the plane.
Link to larger picture.
The process is repeated in reverse to leave the plane.
My DD gets her wheelchair delivered to the arrival gate when we leave the plane - it is brought right to the door of the plane.
Wheelchairs are put in the plane last and unloaded first, but you may still have to wait until the plane is almost empty before your wheelchair is delivered to the gate. Ask the Flight Attendant to let you know when the wheelchair arrives.
At that point, I usually get off so I can put the wheelchair back together before DH brings DD off the plane.
If you need an aisle chair, they will usually make you wait to get off until all the other passengers have gotten off.
Some people who can ride in an airport wheelchair may choose to get their wheelchair delivered to the baggage claim area. Just make sure the baggage claim tag for your wheelchair is marked for the correct place before you board the plane.
