[Blindtlk] Blind Flyer Rights

[Ellana Crew]

Hello there,

Does anybody have any definitive information about what the rights of blind flyers really are? I have heard so many mixed messages online and I would like to know for sure, especially if you can provide sources such as links to where this information is documented.

I'm fairly certain blind travelers have the right to keep the canes with them in the plane during the entire flight process as long as it is flat on the ground between the seat in the wall of the fuselage, but what about security? Is there an official stance on this? I have been told by some that I am not obligated to go through the metal detector without my cane, and I have heard that canes must be put through the scanner and given back to me before I am allowed to go through the metal detector with my cane safely returned to my hand, but I have heard others say that the canes will set off metal detectors and must be put through the scanners and I must walk through the metal detector without it. Even more confusing still, I have also heard some say that you can go through the metal detector with your cane but that there is a hand device they will use to scan the cane once you are through the metal detector. I have also heard someone mention that straight canes can go through the metal detector with you and will not set it off, but that folding canes will likely set off the metal detector and would likely have to be put through the scanner or scanned with the hand device after you go through the metal detector.

Does anybody know for certain what my rights are in security in regards to my cane? Do I have the right to go through the metal detector using my cane? Will my straight cane set off the metal detector? What about folding canes? If my cane sets off the metal detector, will I have to go through the metal detector again without it? Am I allowed to wait until my cane has gone through the scanner and has been safely returned to my hand before I stepped through the metal detector? Or are they supposed to let me go through with my cane and then scan my cane by hand somehow? Where can I find any documentation of these rights if there are any? I would very much like to have very definitive answers from people who know for certain so that I can firstly be more confident in my discussions with security agents, be more aware of my rights in general, and keep it as a reference for anybody else who may not know their rights as well.

Ellana Crew, Vice President
Maryland Association of Blind Students
Website: nfbmd.org/students
Facebook: facebook.com/mdabs.federation
Twitter: @MDABS_NFB

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.