A social media user waiting to board a Southwest flight recently cried over an alleged “pre-boarding scam” involving wheelchairs – while the plane insists its policies are legitimate.
Passengers are known to get nervous when boarding and disembarking planes, but Paul, whose Twitter handle is @trendready, has complained that some passengers are likely attempting to cheat the system by asking for assist in a wheelchair to be the primary ones on the flight before takeoff.
“Pre-boarding scam at @SouthwestAir,” he he stated in a Saturday tweet with a photograph of a queue of individuals in wheelchairs. “20 passengers board in a wheelchair and possibly only 3 need one to get off the plane.”
The airline responded to the criticism but admitted it had little power to stop any possible fraud.
“Sorry for the frustration, Paul” Southwest wrote on Twitter. “We’re working hard to take care of the integrity of the boarding process while providing adequate accommodation for all passengers. As many disabilities will not be visible, we cannot query the legitimacy of boarding requests.”
![Paul revealed on Twitter that Southwest Airline passengers are engaged in a pre-boarding scam tactic in which they sneakily use wheelchairs.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/scdcds.jpg?w=1024)
![Other social media users who flew in the South West described similar incidents where they witnessed passengers pretending to need a wheelchair to board.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Pilots_Hackers_49868-15494.jpg?w=1024)
Other social media users chimed in and mentioned similar “scams” that they had witnessed.
“Recently I used to be sitting next to a wheelchair” one user wrote on Twitter. “I asked her how many individuals do you think that need a wheelchair. Answer: lower than half of them don’t even pretend to be disabled, they simply want ‘extras’.
“Yeah! Looks like Las Vegas airport. My husband all the time calls it a wheelchair parade.” wrote one other social media user.
“I finished flying @SouthwestAir after a person who was running from his automobile to the terminal in front of me took advantage of it to get an important seat on a crowded flight” one other user claimed.
The following day, Paul again he tweeted about his frustrations over people in wheelchairs who may not need them, including taking pictures of individuals standing and walking before they settled back into their wheelchairs.
He claimed that 14 people used wheelchairs to board, but only six needed them to go away the plane.
“Hey Pavel! Our pre-boarding policy complies with ACAA requirements and allows us to offer appropriate accommodations for all who fly with us.” Southwest tweeted in response.
“Nevertheless, we regret that you simply were disenchanted along with your experience and appreciate you sharing your perspective.”
In keeping with the airline’s policy, customers who require a wheelchair must “declare that they need wheelchair assistance upon arrival on the airport, at any transfer point and upon arrival at the ultimate destination.”
A wheelchair can be added when booking, says Southwest.