Disability advocates say her $75,000 custom-built wheelchair was so badly damaged that it was removed from her on a Delta flight.
Air travel accessibility issues for passengers with disabilities
Airlines mishandle thousands of mobility devices each year, raising concerns about accessibility in air travel.
- A disability rights organization’s custom wheelchair was severely damaged on a recent Delta flight.
- This is the third time an airline has seriously damaged Emily Rado’s mobile device.
- Ladau believes the problem stems from systemic flaws and a lack of accountability within the airline industry.
When Emily Rado was told after her flight that there were no wheelchairs on the bridge of her jet, she realized the aviation system had once again failed her as a disabled traveler.
Radau explained that her wheelchair was damaged after she arrived in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Paul International Airport for Delta Airlines. The sense of loss and frustration was all too familiar, she says.
“At the time of landing, before I got off the plane, the complaints officer came to see me and said there was an incident. That’s a direct word, an incident. She said they wouldn’t bring me my wheelchair so I had to go look for it at baggage claim,” Radau told USA TODAY in an interview. “When you hear about a 450-pound wheelchair falling off, you don’t think the outcome is good.”
Her suspicions turned out to be correct, and Ladau said this was the third time the airline had caused significant damage to her mobile equipment, not to mention other damage incidents during the trip.
“The backrest was completely shattered, there were broken pieces from the backrest, and there were pieces of debris on all sides of the chair,” Ladau said. “I quickly realized it was unusable and unrepairable.”
LaDau, a writer and disability rights advocate, flew to Minneapolis on March 9 to speak in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Because of a genetic disorder called Larsen syndrome, she relies on a custom-built power wheelchair to get around.
She still gave speeches, but said the trip was a frustrating reminder of the need for her job.
“At the end of the day, I really want to quit my job, and I say that in the most sincere sense of the word, because all I do is educate about accessibility,” she said.
When Radau received her wheelchair in Minneapolis, she sobbed at baggage claim.
“It was the most degrading situation I’ve ever felt in my life,” she said. “My wheelchair is part of how I get around the world, and I couldn’t say goodbye to it. I had to sit there in the middle of the airport and watch it roll away from me. It was really heartbreaking. This wheelchair is something I’m very attached to in life.”
Delta confirmed the incident in a statement to USA TODAY.
“Delta understands how important mobility aids are to our customers’ independence, and we sincerely apologize that Ms. Radau’s experience did not meet our standards,” the statement said. “Our team took immediate action and have been proactively working together to meet Ms. Ladau’s needs and listen to her feedback about her experiences and suggestions so that we can better serve her. For any damage to the wheelchair to occur is unacceptable and falls short of the standard of care we strive to provide.”
How common is airline wheelchair damage?
In fact, U.S. airlines showed significant improvement in wheelchair breakage rates in 2025 compared to 2024, but there is still work to be done.
According to the Department of Transportation, the 10 largest U.S. airlines and their subsidiaries transported 907,259 wheelchairs and other mobility devices in 2025, and the Department received 9,910 reports of mishandling (a rate of 1.09%).
For comparison, carriers mishandled 1.26% of the mobility devices they transported in 2024.
However, for those whose equipment is damaged, the only acceptable number of wheelchair damage reports is zero.
LaDau said she doesn’t know how long it will take to replace her $75,000 custom wheelchair, and in the meantime she continues to use a loaner chair from a Delta contractor that doesn’t fit her.
“My wheelchair is a part of my body, and using another wheelchair means I’m less conscious of how I’m taking up space,” she says, adding that if a wheelchair doesn’t fit the user properly, it can cause pain and other injuries.
Radau said that while all the Delta employees she worked with to reach a resolution were kind and professional, she still found the situation frustrating.
“I don’t think this is an issue where people working on the ground or at the airport should be punished. I think they are doing everything in their power to address the flaws in the system,” she said. “There is no excuse at this point as to why airlines have not come up with better systems to protect wheelchairs. There is also no excuse for the fact that the Department of Transportation has discontinued accountability and safety initiatives that the previous administration had come close to completing.”
The Department of Transportation under the Trump administration delayed implementation of the “Air Travel with Dignity” rule passed by the Biden administration until 2024. Regulators under the Trump administration said some provisions of the rule require further review before it takes effect.
LaDau added that it was especially frustrating that Delta Air Lines was the airline behind this particular incident, as it was the official airline of the United States for this winter’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For Radau, the best outcome of this may be the opportunity for more effective first-person advocacy.
“I know there are a lot of supporters and organizations that are already doing this work, but I would like to speak to (Delta) staff if we can support what is already being done and further change direction,” she said. “We want to educate that there is a human behind every mobility device.”
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and can be reached at zwichter@usatoday.com.
