I noticed on a recent flight that when they made the call for "people with disabilities" to board the plane first that there was an abnormally high amount of wheelchair-bound passengers getting on the plane that I was getting on. It seemed as though there was way too many of them - more than a dozen - and while I suppose this is entirely possible that there would be that many actually disabled people on a flight - it does appear that there are some people out there that are cheating the system in order to get preferential treatment in airports.
There have been many stories of people intentionally faking injury or disability to get preferential treatment not just on the airplane but in security and the rest of the airport. I suppose I can understand this because airports have become truly unenjoyable experiences and much of this has to do with long lines at both ticket counters, security, and immigration. If you are in a wheelchair, you don't have to endure most of this so while I would never do it, I guess I can understand why people would try.
There is another story where 20 people who were "wheelchair bound" on Southwest Airlines flight - and airline notorious for bad service and long lines - arrived at their destinations and it was documented where most of them got out of their chairs and walked just fine once they were at the other end. This happened while the people who played by the rules were still waiting in line.
Now it is a truly despicable person that would fake an injury in order to get preferential treatment but much of the blame lies on the actual airlines themselves. You are supposed to have some sort of doctor's confirmation that you have an actual disability to qualify for this treatment, but most airlines, at least in the past, don't actually ask for this information perhaps out of fear of online backlash if the person in question decides to turn their camera on and document that they are being denied service for their "disability."
In this day and age where just about anything can go viral regardless of whether it is true or not, it could result in an airline being set up by the person with an actual disability so that they could later sue for discrimination. Since especially in the United States, these suits could result in millions of dollars in losses, the airlines simply allow everyone with a wheelchair to go on through.
Just like when I was writing about people getting their dogs on planes for free by pretending to have an emotional disorder, there are almost certainly a large swath of people who fake an injury so that they can get better treatment on flights.
The answer to this would be kind of simple actually: Genuinely require a disability to qualify for this service. Make it extremely clear when booking a flight that you MUST declare your disability before arriving at the airport and that you MUST have a certain level of proof of your disability in order to qualify.
There are other things that could happen as well but wont... such as airlines and airports streamlining their services so that people don't feel the need to cheat the system. None of us like waiting endlessly and feeling like unwanted cattle, and unfortunately that is exactly what most airlines and airports make us feel like.
The people that genuinely need it, just like with service dogs, I want them to have it. Unfortunately though we live in a very selfish world that when people see an opportunity to take advantage of a system that has a ton of holes in it, they are going to do so. The worst people do it for internet clout as well as special treatment.
The entire airport wheelchair imposter situation is sort of out on control and in the meantime everyone suffers as a consequence.
In a later episode I will tell a story about a person that I know in real life that takes advantage of this system and laughs about it to the rest of us. We all hate her anyway but this certainly doesn't help the situation.