Easier Air Travel for Senior Citizens

Traveling by air can be a stressful experience, especially for senior citizens. Since 911, family members and friends can no long accompany the traveler to the boarding gate. Most of us have become used to these changes, yet some seniors, especially those who until recently were easily mobile, can find the experience intimidating. Even when the senior has a companion, the process can be overwhelming. I know that was true for my mother.

Our son recently was married in Portland, Oregon, and we planned for my husband, mother and me to fly from the Las Vegas Airport to Portland's. Weeks prior to the departure date Mom began fretting about the trip, and I wasn't sure why. Although she is eighty, she looks closer to sixty, and has always been relatively healthy.

One day Mom informed me that she wasn't sure she would make the wedding. This was the wedding for her eldest grandchild, a young man Mom bonded with at an early age and adores. The idea she would consider missing the event shocked me. I asked her why, and her response was that she wasn't sure she could take the flight.

What?? The flight from Vegas to Portland is about two hours, which is quicker than our drive to the airport. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized the problem was not about the flight, it was about the airport.

Recently my mother has been having some problems with her knee, and the earliest she could get into the specialist was after the wedding. But, her regular physician gave her some pain killers, to help her cope.

Because of her knee, she walks very slow, and unsure. My husband was mindful of the condition, as he himself had a total knee replacement about ten years ago. If anyone understands joint pains, it is my husband. Which is why, he had already made an arrangement for a wheelchair to meet us at the airport. Walking from the ticket booth to the boarding gate would not be physically possible for my mother.

When making airline reservations, you can make a special arrangement to have a wheelchair waiting, which will take its passenger from the ticket counter to the boarding gate. And when the plane lands, another wheelchair will be waiting.

After I realized what the problem was, I mentioned it to my husband, who told me he had already arranged for a wheelchair. In his mind, it was an obvious solution and didn't consider he needed to mention what he'd done.

I told Mom not to worry, there would be a wheelchair for her at the airport. Her response? She was horrified. Instead of being relieved and grateful, she seemed annoyed. I asked her why she felt this way, and her response: "I don't want anyone staring at me."

Mother is a very shy person, and she was quite sincere in her reasoning. "But Mom" I asked, "do you stare at people in wheelchairs?"

She looked at me, a bit offended, and answered "Of course not!" I suppose it was in that moment she 'got it'.

The wheelchair was a godsend, and without it Mother could not have made the trip. It cost us nothing, and the airport employees were helpful and courteous. Although I opted to push the wheelchair, had she been alone, an airport employee would have helped her.

I wonder how many seniors share my mother's reservation. Once mobile and active, they no longer visit family and friends, unsure how they will be able to walk the long distance in a strange, crowded and often confusing airport. Yet, even if they travel alone, there is assistance.

The experience gave me new appreciation to those who worked (and continue to work) diligently to improve services to those people with special needs. Because, you never know when a loved one, or yourself, we be that person.