Just for once I’d like to tell the gate agents and flight attendants that my folding wheelchair is going into the onboard closet and not have them tell me there’s “no room”. Bitch that’s a wheelchair closet, not a “your bags” closet. Move your damn bags where they belong.
Ok, so according to my friendly aviation expert, this is a Big Fucking Deal. In fact, if an airline argues with you about putting your wheelchair in the wheelchair closet or even suggests there may not be room, unless there is already another passenger’s wheelchair in that closet, they have violated federal law.
CFR Title 14, Chapter II, Subchapter D, Part 382, Subpart E, Section 382.67, Subsection (e)
“As a carrier, you must never request or suggest that a passenger not stow his or her wheelchair in the cabin to accommodate other passengers (e.g., informing a passenger that stowing his or her wheelchair in the cabin will require other passengers to be removed from the flight), or for any other non-safety related reason (e.g., that it is easier for the carrier if the wheelchair is stowed in the cargo compartment).”
This is hugely important because it means that if this happens to you, you should report their asses to the DOT. Why? Because these statistics are published every year for every airline, and the airline gets a huge ass fine for every violation. If we want to see change, we need to make airlines literally pay every time they treat us this way.
I’ve been flying for 35 years and never knew they were wheelchair closets. Mind=blown.
Under US law, any plane with 100 seats or more built or retrofitted in the last 20 years (which is pretty much any plane that size flying at this point) must have an onboard wheelchair closet that will hold a folding wheelchair that is 13" x 36" x 42" or smaller when folded. The first passenger with a wheelchair to preboard gets to put their wheelchair in this closet. Basically it’s first come first serve during preboarding. Anything else in there, including other passengers’ stuff, an aisle wheelchair, or the flight attendants’ luggage has to come out. (This is why the FAs get pissy about it.) And by law there has to be a sign on the closet door stating that it’s a wheelchair closet. So there’s zero excuse for flight attendants trying to claim they didn’t know it was for wheelchairs.
If your chair doesn’t fold down to this size but will fit in the closet with the wheels or back or whatever removed, and the wheels or back or whatever can come off without using tools, not only do they still have to let you put your wheelchair in this closet or in the overhead storage, they have to help you take it apart. If no one has a wheelchair, preboarding passengers with other mobility equipment (walkers, canes, etc.) get priority to store their mobility equipment in this closet.
Seriously, the more I read the law, the more pissed off I get. It’s incredibly clear. That’s a wheelchair closet, you have to let me put my wheelchair in there, and if you even suggest I put it anywhere else you’re in violation of federal law. And this has been the law in the USA for twenty years.
Please note that this is US law and applies to any flight that is wholly within the US plus any flight that either originates or terminates within the US, regardless of whether the airline is a US airline. I believe it also applies to any flights on any US airline even if the flight is wholly outside the US (for example a Delta Airlines flight from Tokyo to Singapore), but you’ll want to check that before you fly.