JetBlue Leads in Wheelchair Requests at Las Americas International Airport
Las Americas International Airport has seen a total of 164,000 requests for wheelchair assistance so far this year, with JetBlue being the airline with the largest number of requests. According to data provided by Dominican Airports 21st Century (Aerodom), the airlines with the most demand for this service are those that offer routes to and from the USA.
JetBlue represents 50% of the requests with 67,433, followed by Delta Airlines with 21,128 (16%), American Airlines with 16,150 (12%), United with 14,167 (12%), Spirit with 10,183 (8%), and Frontier with 4,743.
In an effort to reduce excess demand for wheelchair assistance, Aerodom implemented a protocol in July 2022 to request the service. This protocol requires passengers to request wheelchair service at the check-in counter of the airport and they will be notified when the wheelchair is ready for use.
Meanwhile, at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, a special row in immigration has been enabled to process passengers who enter in wheelchairs.
Although there is still a large presence of passengers in the lines to board flights using wheelchair assistance, the number of applications has been reduced compared to the year 2022, when AILA received 235,367 requests for wheelchair assistance in the period from January to May.
The protocol imposed by AILA last year ensures that passengers or their companions must request wheelchair service at the check-in counter of the airport. From the moment of check-in, the Samsic company, which is in charge of providing the wheelchair service at the airport, will be notified and their staff will bring an empty chair directly from the warehouses set up for this purpose.
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