American Airlines is investigating a video on TikTok in which its workers appear to "carelessly toss" a wheelchair and let it "flip" onto the ground at Miami International Airport.
The viral clip was shared by @haez93 and has received 2.3 million views since it was posted two days earlier. In a later comment, the poster said: "This was the 3rd wheelchair I saw them carelessly toss and let flip off like that."
The footage shows a wheelchair being sent down a slide by a worker on the airport tarmac. Meanwhile, another worker, who appears to be wearing a vest bearing an American Airlines logo, is standing near the end of the slide.
The worker at the bottom level watches the wheelchair speed down the slide before it rolls off it and tumbles over a few times on the ground. The worker is later seen retrieving the wheelchair and placing it on a loading crate.
In a statement, American Airlines told Newsweek: "This visual is deeply concerning and we are gathering more details so that we can address them with our team. We will continue to work hard to improve our handling of assistive devices across our network."
The statement continued: "We recognize how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities by ensuring the proper care of mobility devices throughout their journey with us."
American is reviewing the video and will take the necessary next steps, according to the airline.
Among the 15 airlines surveyed in an Air Travel Consumer Report published in October by the U.S. Department of Transportation, American Airlines had the second-highest number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled in August 2023.
A total of 1,085 wheelchairs and scooters were reported to have been mishandled in August, 226 of which were handled by American Airlines, according to the report. The figures are from "all U.S. airlines with at least half of one percent of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues."
American Airlines was surpassed by Southwest Airlines (317) and followed by United Airlines (132) and Delta Air Lines (116) in the ranking of carriers, which was based on the number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled in August.
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Not 'Handling With Care'
According to a later comment by the original poster, the footage in the clip was captured around noon local time at Terminal E between Gates E8 and E9.
A caption shared with the post says: "Dang, after I saw them do this and laugh with the first two wheelchairs, I had to get it on film. That is not what I'd call 'handling with care' for someone's mobility device."
According to American, the airline has established a customer accessibility team and accessibility council to focus on improving the travel experience for customers with any type of disability.
The airline says training focused on the appropriate handling of wheelchairs and other mobility devices is routinely provided to its customer operations teams. These teams are engaged to determine areas where improvements can be made.
"We are improving our wheelchair/scooter tag to facilitate better communication with customers about their needs and the specific features of their mobility devices [and] working with our airport teams to streamline scanning and loading wheelchairs," the American Airlines website says.
Wheelchair movers and lifts are being installed at various airports with high mobility device traffic, which will help lower the risk of damaging mobility devices and employee injury, according to the airline.
An American Airlines plane sits at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in April 2022. A video in which American Airlines staff at Miami International Airport appear to "carelessly toss" a wheelchair down a slide has gone...An American Airlines plane sits at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in April 2022. A video in which American Airlines staff at Miami International Airport appear to "carelessly toss" a wheelchair down a slide has gone viral on TikTok.iStock / Getty Images Plus
'This Is So Sad'
Users on TikTok were concerned by the footage of the workers in the clip.
Joanne Bennett said: "As a wheelchair user, seeing this will stop me from ever travelling out of fear this will happen @American Airlines."
Shirley Rhodes wrote, "This is unacceptable!!!!!" And tutuu350 said, "This is so sad @American Airlines."
Purple Frog Crochet wrote: "That's someone's legs bro."
Andrea wrote: "Do better, American Airlines! Hold your staff accountable. That is someone's lifeline and wheelchairs are so expensive."
Kaely J agreed, writing, "The fact that those damn chairs are outrageous in price and they do this with them, makes my blood boooooooil."
DRossi58 said: "Those slides are made for standard luggage. Even then a rubber type snubber should be used to catch the luggage. Shameful."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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