Airports are tricky business anyway. For people who are travelling by air for the first time, the anxiety might not just be about sitting in a machine suspended thousands of feet above ground. Just getting to that machine requires a long and multiple step process that easily takes an hour.
My parents never even imagined that I could ever travel via air on my own. not because I was scared of planes. Rather, Because navigating the airport without any guidance was simply not possible for me as a visually impaired individual. And unlike other means of transport, such as railways or roadways, airports don’t allow non travellers to go beyond the entrance of the airport.
What made me finally take the plunge?
I had heard of disability assistance. I had some idea that airlines provide some assistance to customers with vision impairment, but how helpful would that be and how to go about it was a mystery.
So when my cousins invited me over to a far far away city for a bachelorette bash, I absolutely wanted to go…but of course, I can’t exactly ask my mom to accompany me to a bachelorette….
So I Googled it up and discovered that providing disability assistance is not only an add on service that some airlines offer, but a mandatory service that each and every airline has to provide.
After reading about the rules and requirements of the particular airlines I planned to travel with, I was assured and booked my tickets.
I need to mention here that my mom was quite trustworthy and felt that I need to take this trip just to see if in fact travelling alone by air is a possibility or not. Even though my father was extremely sceptical and expressed his opposition quite harshly, my mother took this plunge with me.
Booking disability assistance
Once I had the tickets booked, I simply called up the customer care of the particular airlines and asked them to book disability assistance for me. So even though I can walk on my own and don’t really need a wheel chair, the airlines did not have a separate provision to provide an assistant sans the wheel chair. Well…after confirming that the wheel chair would come with a human assistant, and that I won’t simply be provided with a wheel chair that I would have to navigate on my own (you know just in case…), I booked disability assistance for both my flights.
Time to get- set- go!
When I booked the disability assistance, I was asked to report to the Indigo reservation desk (I travelled via Indigo) approximately one and a half hour before the departure time. (if you are planning to travel with disability assistance, I really recommend you actually report at the airport two hours before boarding time, cause at times there is a lot of demand for wheelchairs and you might have to wait). I showed my tickets and the guy called for my wheelchair. After waiting for a little while, an Indigo staff member arrived with my wheel chair and the magic began.
The wheelchair experience
Not only was this my first flight alone, it was also my first ever time on a wheelchair. So although it was a bit awkward at first, (the world kind of felt weird looking at people rushing by from a lower angle…), I highly enjoyed the experience once I got used to it. I should mention here that the staff who are employed as assistants are extremely cordial and friendly (at least in my experience). Oh and at large airports, there are separate gates for disabled people so once you are on the wheelchair, you’ll reach the boarding gate in a swish!
What assistance does disability assistance provide?
So the assistant took me to the counter of Indigo where one gets their boarding pass, and parked my wheel chair at a distance. He asked for my ID and ticket and went ahead and got my boarding pass for me. (I requested for a seat up front so that it would be close to the washroom and I won’t need to ask for help for that matter). The air hostess came and greeted me and told me to tell her if I needed anything in the flight.
I didn’t check in any bags because I was travelling only for two days and didn’t want to complicate things by checking in my luggage. But I am sure if you need to, they would have some provision to reunite you with your baggage without you having to identify it. I suggest you talk to the air hostesses about it at the time of checking in.
The next stop was the security check. Again, the assistant got my bags checked through security and I totally got to skip the cue. (by the way, don’t feel guilty about not having to wait like others. They aren’t prioritizing you to make it convenient for you. People on wheel chairs need to board flights first because of course it would be difficult to get a wheel chair inside the flight with dozens of people pushing through the door. Also, these assistants need to attend to other passengers once they get you boarded so they need to be quick)
I did have to get off my beloved wheel chair and go through the frisking on my own feet. But I’m sure they have some provision for orthopedically impaired individuals for that.
Once through the security, I was taken to the boarding gate and parked there until the gates opened. This is when I gave my mom a call knowing that she wouldn’t have left the airport premises until now.
Once the gates opened, I and another elderly gentleman on the wheelchair were the first passengers on board. If you are accompanying someone who is using disability assistance, don’t worry, they won’t ask you to board later with everyone else. You can go along with them.
So at this airport, my flight was using an aerobridge so there were no stops beyond this. But on my return journey, the flights had the ramp and so I didn’t have to climb up or down the steep staircase that’s usually attached to planes. The airport staff even loads the wheelchair into the bus that takes passengers to and from the terminal.
Once at the door of the flight, the assistant asked if I can walk from there to my seat, and I answered in affirmative. I got up and followed the assistant to my seat. He deposited my bag in the overhead compartment and bid me good bye.
Being the first one in, I got the advantage of putting my bag right on top of my seat where I could easily find it at the time of arrival.
Once comfortably settled in my seat, I took an awesome selfie and sent it to my parents.
The arrival
so at arrival, I got another assistant whom I asked to take me to the exit gate. My cousins who were coming to pick me up at the airport were running a little late and so I waited for them in the waiting area next to the exit gate. Once they arrived, I met them at the gate and yuhoooooo, the party began!!!
Take aways from this experience
Over all, travelling with disability assistance is much more convenient than travelling with an accompanying person. The assistants were extremely friendly and helpful and I faced not a single problem. from the reservation counter to the exit gate, I was in absolutely safe hands.
So if you are someone who is hesitating in travelling alone by air, thinking how will you navigate the airport without sight or who’ll push your wheel chair around, just book your disability assistance and fly away…
