This is a true story I witnessed with my own eyes.
It is Saturday evening—a relatively quiet time in one of Canada’s large international airports. Waiting for checked luggage today is a more common activity for frequent flyers than it was just a few weeks ago. New security rules restricting liquids in carry-on bags have forced even veteran passengers to check luggage.
A young airport employee, credentials conspicuously hanging from a lanyard around her neck, approaches an elderly woman in the baggage claim hall. Dozens of passengers waiting for checked luggage overhear the conversation.
“You can’t push the wheelchair, ma’am. You must sit in it.” The young woman
was holding a walkie-talkie in her right hand and was reaching toward the elderly woman with her left hand.
“Oh, I am using the wheelchair to support myself. I have difficulty walking. The elderly woman smiled.
“No, there is an airport policy. You must sit in the wheelchair. You can’t put your
luggage in the chair.”
“How will I get to my car.”
“Sit over there and wait. I will come back for you when I have a chance. Meanwhile I must take the chair away from you. There is an airport policy.” The young woman struggled to gain control of the wheelchair.
It was not much of a struggle—youth and strength versus age and disability. The young employee walked away from the old woman and she took the wheelchair with her.
The old woman stood in the middle of the baggage claim hall with her luggage resting beside her, on the floor. She was no longer smiling. The airport worker returned the wheelchair to the storage area at the back of the baggage claim hall and then continued with her duties, supervising the activities of passengers in the baggage claim hall.
Analysis&Scepticism 