Passengers are requesting wheelchair assistance at the airport even when they don’t need it, in order to get priority all the way through the journey. Not only don’t they have to walk through the terminal, but they skip security lines and they board the plane first too.
When they get to the plane, suddenly they can walk. They’ve been healed! The phenomenon is often called “Jetbridge Jesus” because it’s a miracle on jetway.
✈️ When miracles happen at 35,000ft pic.twitter.com/iGv2HRdP0A
— True Patriot (@gen_z4961) January 21, 2026
In the U.S., no airline accommodates more wheelchair passengers than Southwest. If you’re in a wheelchair, you board first. And the earlier you board, the more seats you get to choose from. Wheelchair passengers just aren’t supposed to sit in an exit row. But assigned seating comes January 27. We’re just days away from Southwest becoming a ‘normal’ airline with fake wheelchairs.
Seriously @SouthwestAir? There are more than 25 pre-boarders on my LAS-AUS flight. Just because you get a C on your boarding group shouldn’t mean you can cut the line. pic.twitter.com/ni0RGVPdq4
— Steve Stauning (@SteveStauning) November 15, 2025
It still happens at other airlines, even when it doesn’t get you better seats. There are up to 120 wheelchair requests per international flight on Air India. 90 wheelchairs are common. Data suggests that 30% of Air India passengers flying to the U.S. and U.K. request wheelchairs.
Data from early 2025 shows that nearly 30% of passengers booking Air India flights to USA from India requested wheelchair assistance. On February 19, for instance, Air India’s nonstop Delhi to Chicago flight had 99 wheelchair bookings for almost one-third of the passengers on board. On March 20, the airline had to cater to a whopping 90 wheelchair service requests for passengers scheduled to travel on the Delhi-Newark flight. Precisely, Air India alone processes over 100,000 wheelchair requests every month from passengers, domestic and international.
Air India says 30% of passengers on India-US flights ask for wheelchairs.
Most are able bodied travelers scamming the priority boarding system.
Real disabled passengers get left short.
— Bruce (@bruce_barrett) November 15, 2025
Passengers who request wheelchairs when they don’t really need them hogs available wheelchairs and staff time pushing those chairs. People do it selfishly, though, because it means:
- Guaranteed bin space near your seat. For many once-a-year travellers with big carry-ons, “my bag is right above me” feels like a huge win.
- The whole entourage boarding with the wheelchair, so 3–6 family members board early too. They can get kids settled, claim overheads for multiple bags, and rearrange seats before the cabin fills.
- Avoid standing in a packed jetbridge.
- No long walking distances in the airport.
- No long waits at security, either.
Requesting wheelchairs remains about converting the airport day into a half-baked VIP meet-and-assist product for free. Either that, or there really are miracles happening inside of airports every day.
