Air travel can be stressful for even the most seasoned traveler. But flying can prove to be a nightmarish experience for those with limited mobility and disabilities, especially if their equipment goes missing, which is more commonplace than you’d think. It can leave them helpless and immobile. The industry needs changes to accommodate people with mobility limitations better.

Improving safety and restoring dignity

For more than 10 years, Professor Shu Cole, the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Health and Wellness Design at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has been a leading researcher studying the travel experiences of people with disabilities (mainly those with spinal cord injuries) and seniors with limited mobility.

According to Indiana University, her wealth of knowledge in the field recently netted her a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. The grant is to be used to help find new ways to make air travel accessible and inclusive for people with limited mobility.

Professor Cole said in a statement:

“A lost or damaged wheelchair can ruin a person’s trip. Some of these wheelchairs are custom made and are very difficult and very expensive to repair or replace. People with disabilities deal with psychological stress and even physical injuries when airline workers are poorly trained or poorly equipped. We want to change that by developing standardized training protocols that can be more easily adopted by air travel services.”

The grant will cover an extensive five-year study that Cole intends to help develop various recommendations on training programs for airport and airline personnel to assist passengers who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids, such as walkers.

The underlying problem

According to the US Department of Transportation ( DOT), airlines lost or damaged more than 11,000 wheelchairs last year. The ongoing issue prompted the DOT to announce a new proposed rule requiring airlines to notify passengers immediately when a wheelchair is lost or damaged. The rule also holds the airlines accountable for repairing the damage or replacing the wheelchair. In the meantime, the airline has to provide a loaner wheelchair. If the airline does not follow through, it can be liable for fines up to $124,000. In recent years, the federal government has been clamping down on airlines that mistreat passengers and damage mobility aids.

Professor Cole’s research is focused on improving the airline industry:

“Our primary goal is to collaborate with air travel service providers to help them enhance their services for passengers with disabilities. We acknowledge the significant efforts aviation services have made over the years, and we recognize that solutions are not always simple. However, we hope for more progress at a faster pace.”

One of the world’s leading experts in disability issues is Simon Darcy, a Professor in Business Management at the University of Technology Sydney. Simon, who is a quadriplegic and a power wheelchair user himself, is a frequent traveler.

Airplane cabins don’t have enough space for wheelchair users, so they often need assistance boarding. When personnel are trained, the experience goes smoothly, but that’s not always the case. On a recent flight, Professor Darcy was carried by untrained workers, and his foot was severely injured as a result.

Professor Darcy hopes that this new research led by Indiana University will make traveling for disabled persons safer, easier, and more dignified.

There’s an upside for airlines as well. If people with disabilities are catered to, they’ll fly more often, which is additional revenue. A recent study showed that nearly 13 billion disabled adults took 25.4 million flights in the past two years, spending roughly $10 billion on travel expenses. It is a market that has room for growth.