Clever Frequent Fliers Using Wheelchairs To Skip Security Lines Legally

Note how I corrected the title of this news article. The as-published
title was:

Scammers Using Wheelchairs To Skip Airport Lines Legally

Of course they aren't scammers. I applaud their actions. I might try
it myself the next time this economy recovers and the concept of
"business travel" returns.

Get a load of the name of the author of this story. FEARNOW.

I think this guy was on to something way earlier. He had the right
idea:

http://i.thestar.com/images/03/c7/da...27299ebc9.jpeg

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http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/10/...lines-legally/

Clever Frequent Fliers Using Wheelchairs To Skip Security Lines Legally
By Benjamin Fearnow
October 8, 2012 4:38 AM

HOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – A wheelchair request can put you at the front of
a long airport line.

Or, at least, that’s the angle some fully-abled passengers are using to
cut through the winding queues at airport security checkpoints, the New
York Times reported. According to the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act,
airlines are required to accommodate disabled travelers — who need not
show any proof of disability — free of charge.

And this isn’t news to airport staffers.

“When travelers see that the line is so long, they just ask for a
wheelchair,” Evelyn Danquah, an attendant for Delta Air Lines, told the
Times. She said she has seen some wheelchair fakers stand and walk away
as soon as they clear security. Wheelchair attendants — whose salaries
range between $9 and $14 an hour, with tips, help to maintain a “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy regarding the line-hopping strategy in hopes of
bolstering their paychecks, the Times reported.

The tactic even spawned a new term among flight attendants: “miracle
flights.” Where passengers use wheelchairs to board but abandon them
when their planes land.

Kelly Skyles, the national safety and security coordinator for the
Association of Professional Flight Attendants, told the Times she
believes travelers shed their wheelchairs because passengers in
wheelchairs are the last to leave the plane.

“Not only do we serve them beverages and ensure their safety — now we’re
healing the sick,” said Skyles, who is also a flight attendant.

Peter Greenberg, author and travel editor for CBS News, said he has
noticed miracle flights on the rise as security has increased in rigor.
He told the Times the scammers will eventually face unpleasant
consequences – even if it’s on a higher level.

“I’m a big believer in karma,” he said. “You don’t put on a dress when
the Titanic is going down so you can get in the first lifeboat.”

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Now can someone explain the following item - why it was included in this
story?
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Karma wasn’t kind to one wheelchair faker in the past. The Telegraph
reported in late August that Barry Brooks, who had pretended to be
disabled in order to secure nearly $2.9 million in grants — which he
then used to buy luxury cars, motorcycles and a penthouse in Spain — was
sentenced to eight years in prison.

It’s unclear whether deceitful passengers will suffer any penalties in
the future. Jean Medina, spokesperson for industry trade organization
Airlines for America, wrote in an email to the Times that her
organization hopes travelers would refrain from abusing the law.

“We respect our passengers, and we trust their integrity when they seek
wheelchair assistance,” Medina said in the email.