For many roles, especially in leadership, air travel is vitally important to make professional connections domestically and around the world. But employees who use wheelchairs face many challenges in airline travel, including the possibility of their wheelchairs and scooters being lost, damaged, or even destroyed by airlines, according to a recent white paper from the SHRM Foundation’s Employing Abilities at Work initiative. The aviation sector is responding to these concerns and is increasingly regulated, the white paper notes, but challenges remain for wheelchair users traveling by air.

Damage and Destruction of Wheelchairs

In 2022, the 10 largest U.S. airlines lost, damaged, or destroyed 1.62% of wheelchairs and scooters, or approximately 1,008 each month, according to a report by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Last year, 11,527 wheelchairs and scooters were damaged or destroyed by commercial airlines, a number thought to be a significant underrepresentation due to the administrative burden of filing a claim that is placed on the wheelchair user.

Such damage “not only causes harm to wheelchair users’ dignity and independence, but also curtails their workforce participation and productivity,” the SHRM Foundation white paper said.

A 2024 survey by The Century Foundation found that about 70% of travelers with disabilities “passed up on airline travel in the previous years due to accessibility concerns.”

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