[nabs-l] Questions about getting assistance in airports

Sat May 28 02:48:55 UTC 2016

Hi Sami,

A couple of tips that may help...  I am no travel expert, but I have
experienced enough blind airport trials over the years to learn a few
things:

Stand your ground.  TSA, flight attendants, and the like cannot tell
you to give up your cane and cannot force you into a wheelchair.
Years ago I was told at airport security that I had to remove all of
my guide dog's equipment-leash, harness, collars, everything, and
because I was cute and naïve back then, I simply went along with it,
even though I knew better. I was extremely uncomfortable, but
thankfully my dog behaved, and I decided I would never allow that to
happen again.

I, like Aleeha, avoid using airport assist whenever possible.  (They
always tell me to slow down!  :()  I have found that if you make
friends on your flight, you can simply follow these new friends to
baggage claim.  These new friends have often turned out to be more
respectful of me as a person who happens to be blind than the people
paid to assist me at the airport.

I agree about learning your home airport if you can.  You can also ask
a family member or friend to accompany you to your home gate.  They
get a pass and can go through security with you.  I recommend doing
this if you want to explore the airport because I have noticed (and
this could just be my luck), that when I wander around the airport on
my own, I get a lot of overly helpful people on my case.

Side note: to Aleeha, some airlines put a service dog note in your
file.  They did it the last time I flew.  This makes it 10 times more
difficult not to sit in bulkhead and also alerts the airlines that you
have a disability, which means that they urge you to preboard, have
assist waiting there for you, etc.  I believe you can request that
they don't place a note in your file, but they may do it anyway.

Sami, I hope you have a wonderful, stress free airport experience!
Enjoy the adventure!

On 5/27/16, KENNEDY STOMBERG via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> Kennedy Stomberg
> Thank you for starting this discussion! I am flying on my own for the first
> time to Convention, and I was a bit scared to a2k about this, as it seemed
> like most people know! But I am glad I am not the only one flying on my own!
> Have fun in California!
>
>> On May 27, 2016, at 4:32 PM, justin williams via NABS-L
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> You can either get assistance, or ask direction, and a combination of the
>> two.  If you take the assistance, be sure to instruct them as to exactly
>> how
>> you want help.  Keep in mind, you want to make aur eyou catch your
>> flight,
>> but you also don't want to get pulled and pushed around any old way..
>> When
>> I was offered a wheelchair, I put my luggage in it.
>> LOL.
>> Justin
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha
>> Dudley
>> via NABS-L
>> Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 5:28 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Aleeha Dudley <blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com>; blindtlk at nfbnet.org; Sami
>> Osborne <ligne14 at verizon.net>; travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions about getting assistance in airports
>>
>> Hello Sami,
>> I would like to give my own thoughts on this topic. First let me say this.
>> I
>> will soon be graduating from the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and much
>> of
>> what I have learned stems from this training. I do not generally get
>> assistance at airports, unless it is a very tight connection between
>> flights
>> at an airport that I do not know. Even then, as I learned recently, it
>> may
>> not be a good idea. People can be very over helpful, pushing and pulling
>> you
>> around, putting you in a wheel chair, making you late, and generally
>> being
>> pains in the neck. So, I generally ask people where my gate is or where
>> the
>> counter is. With their direction, I simply just start walking.
>>> This allows me to really get to know where things are and it gives mea
>> good sense of what is around me. I always learn what my luggage looks
>> like
>> so that I can find it myself by touching the bags on the luggage
>> carousel.
>> I also wanted to ask you: what airline was it that asked if you had a
>> dog?
>> Aleeha
>>
>>>> On May 27, 2016, at 12:53 PM, Sami Osborne via NABS-L
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I hope you're all having a great holiday weekend and enjoying spending
>> time with family and friends.
>>>
>>> This August, I'll be traveling from my home state of NY all the way to
>>> San
>> Francisco, CA for a ten-day-long music camp for the blind.  This will be
>> my
>> first time flying by myself without my family.  I'd like to ask you guys
>> a
>> couple of questions about getting assistance to the gate at the airport,
>> which we, as blind people, probably all need.
>>>
>>> First of all, how much in advance should you let the airline know that
>>> you
>> need assistance? When my mom was buying the plane tickets, she discovered
>> that one of the questions they asked was if I was a blind person with a
>> guide dog.  She didn't answer that because I only have a cane.  But on
>> the
>> airline's website, there is no information regarding getting assistance
>> if
>> you're blind.  So I'd like to know if you'd need to apply for assistance
>> well in advance of your trip or just a few days before? Also, should you
>> do
>> it on the phone or can you do it online?
>>>
>>> Second, I know that they can help you to the gate, but will they assist
>> you with getting to the security checkpoint as well? When I go flying
>> with
>> my family, the airport employees usually assist me with going through
>> security, so I already know that they can do that.  But as for getting
>> from
>> the curb to the checkpoint, would they be able to do that?
>>>
>>> Third, as I mentioned before, this is my first time  flying on my own.
>>> I
>> know that a lot of times in the airport, they'll ask you if you want a
>> wheelchair, only because they assume the worst about us.  I think you
>> know
>> what I mean.  Anyway, when I apply to get assistance, should I tell them
>> that I don't need a wheelchair and just use sighted guide with whichever
>> airport employee is walking with me, or would I need to do that  at the
>> airport?
>>>
>>> I hope that you people who fly independently can help me with this.
>>>
>>> Thanks and happy Memorial Day weekend,
>>>
>>> Sami
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> NABS-L mailing list
>>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> NABS-L:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/blindcowgirl1993%40gmail
>> .com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NABS-L mailing list
>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> NABS-L:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/justin.williams2%40gmail
>> .com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NABS-L mailing list
>> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> NABS-L:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kestomberg%40coe.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> NABS-L mailing list
> NABS-L at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> NABS-L:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7