Able-Bodied Travelers Are Faking Disabilities to Skip Airport Lines and Some Passengers Are Not Happy About It
One TikTok user attributes the phenomenon to “Jetway Jesus” because passengers are miraculously healed after they land.
Social media calls them “miracle flights,” where passengers request wheelchairs to board early, then miraculously walk off the plane when they land.
Carlos Gomez’s recent flight from Guadalajara was delayed because 25 wheelchair passengers were boarding, The Wall Street Journal reported. When the plane landed, most stood up without assistance and walked off toward baggage claim. Gomez said a flight attendant told him able-bodied passengers request wheelchairs for “the VIP experience,” skipping lines and getting first crack at overhead space. One TikTok user called it “Jetway Jesus” healing passengers mid-flight.
The scam delays flights, leaves people with real disabilities waiting for wheelchairs, and forces unpaid flight crews to work late, per the WSJ. Southwest Airlines recently announced assigned seating, partly to combat preboarding chaos that comes when people have an incentive to board early.
Social media calls them “miracle flights,” where passengers request wheelchairs to board early, then miraculously walk off the plane when they land.
Carlos Gomez’s recent flight from Guadalajara was delayed because 25 wheelchair passengers were boarding, The Wall Street Journal reported. When the plane landed, most stood up without assistance and walked off toward baggage claim. Gomez said a flight attendant told him able-bodied passengers request wheelchairs for “the VIP experience,” skipping lines and getting first crack at overhead space. One TikTok user called it “Jetway Jesus” healing passengers mid-flight.
The scam delays flights, leaves people with real disabilities waiting for wheelchairs, and forces unpaid flight crews to work late, per the WSJ. Southwest Airlines recently announced assigned seating, partly to combat preboarding chaos that comes when people have an incentive to board early.
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