Passengers Waited Nearly Three Hours While An Unbroken One Was Found

Passengers aboard a recent Delta Airlines flight set to depart from New York's JFK Airport were told that their flight was being delayed because the airplane's  wheelchair, which is required on every flight, had a broken handle, and the plane could not take off while that piece of equipment was damaged.

The blog "Freakonomics" from the New York Times reports that passengers waiting on the plane at the gate were kept up to date on the search for an unbroken wheelchair, but it apparently took two and a half hours for one to be located and placed on the plane. The blogger said that, when asked, a flight attendant (rather tersely, in his words) told a passenger that the wheelchair was an ADA requirement, and that it had to be on board even though there was no one on the plane who appeared to need a wheelchair.

Some passengers reportedly did get off the plane rather than wait until a new chair was found.

Editors Note: I had a similar experience some years ago, when a flight I was on (and I honestly don't remember the airline at this point) was delayed at the gate for over an hour because the first aid kit had been opened and something had been used on the previous flight. We were told that, without a complete first aid kit on board, the flight could not push back from the gate. While I understand that concept, after all, I'd hate to be the person who needed what ever the kit was missing, it was curious that it took more than an hour for the airline to come up with a new one.

FMI: www.delta.com, www.ada.gov