With a knowing smile, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois asks, “How many wheelchairs have you had broken?” Matt Scott, a gold medalist in wheelchair basketball, takes a deep inhale before replying with an exasperated “Countless.” This brief exchange in the new short documentary Accessibility for All, released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) last week, captures a reality that many elite athletes with disabilities face: the thrill of competition, mixed with the anxiety and vulnerability that come with travel.
Despite his achievements, for Scott—like for many others—the risk of his mobility being compromised due to inadequate accessibility in transportation is a constant source of stress. As the world celebrates the athleticism currently on display at the Paralympics in Paris, it’s easy to overlook the everyday barriers that disabled athletes still face just trying to get there.
The broader accessibility crisis
Scott’s story highlights a much larger issue: the persistent and often overlooked barriers that disabled people face in travel and transportation. For athletes, getting to an international event like the Paralympics should be straightforward, but for those with mobility devices or other accessibility needs, each trip becomes a potential risk. From broken wheelchairs to inaccessible ground transportation and transfer options, such as a lack of accessible taxis, subway stations, terminals, ferries, and flights or insufficiently trained staff, these challenges are not new. Yet despite decades of advocacy and legal advancements, many still encounter significant hurdles simply moving through their own communities, let alone traveling internationally.
This isn’t a matter of inconvenience. For many disabled travelers, the uncertainty of whether our mobility devices will arrive intact—or even arrive at all—can strip away autonomy and dignity in an instant. The very tools that provide independence, often described by disabled people as extensions of one’s body, are frequently treated with less care than checked luggage, leaving travelers anxious and, in some cases, stranded. It’s a stark contrast: While these athletes are among the best in the world at their sport, mastering complex techniques and pushing their physical limits, they are forced to contend with basic challenges in simply getting to their competitions. For Scott—or the entire Canadian women’s basketball team, who reportedly had their wheelchairs lost or damaged on their way to a past game—these vulnerabilities are all too real.
Addressing the accessibility gap
With the Paralympics currently underway, the U.S. DOT is taking the opportunity to highlight the strides it has made in addressing long-standing accessibility gaps in transportation. One of the most notable developments is a new rule, enacted in February, which imposes stricter penalties on airlines for the loss or damage of mobility devices.
Another rule requiring accessible lavatories on single-aisle planes is set to take effect “as soon as 2026” according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. In an interview with him last week, Buttigieg emphasized that while some rules and enforcements will take longer—such as “the ability for passengers to stay in their wheelchairs on board an aircraft”—his department will “keep pushing” to ensure that these essential changes are implemented.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that came into effect in 2021 is also driving changes. This investment is set to fund over 60,000 projects across the USA, making it the largest investment in accessible infrastructure in the country’s history. Among these initiatives, the $1 billion All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) is set to address accessibility barriers at transit and rail stations across the nation. Additionally, $5 billion has been allocated to improve accessibility at over 150 airports through the Airport Terminals Program.
A global perspective
As the United States introduces new regulations to address barriers, other countries are following suit in the push for accessible skies. In Canada, efforts to improve accessibility have also intensified. As one advocate leading the charge, I serve as the chair of the Accessible Travel Journey Technical Committee for Accessibility Standards Canada, where we work to develop new standards under the Accessible Canada Act that will address barriers faced by passengers with disabilities. A National Air Accessibility summit hosted this past May by Canada’s Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez and Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Kamal Khera brought together stakeholders from across the country to address these pressing issues.
Hearings have also taken place in the House of Commons, where I, along with many other activists, delivered statements and testimony highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by disabled travelers such as poor treatment of people traveling with service animals and even harrowing experiences of passengers being deplaned on food carts or dropped and injured in transfer.
In the United Kingdom, advocates like Sophie Morgan are making similar strides. Morgan’s Channel 4 documentary, Sophie Morgan’s Fight to Fly, shines a spotlight on the obstacles that disabled travelers encounter, pressing for stronger regulations and greater accountability from airlines. Her advocacy echoes the global call for more comprehensive policies to protect the rights of disabled travelers.
Together, Sophie and I, as two cofounders of the #RightsOnFlights movement, have witnessed a global response to the urgent need to address barriers in air travel. With the leadership of advocates like Kelly Buckland and Senator Tammy Duckworth pressing for real change, the hope is that disabled travelers will eventually be able to stay in our mobility devices onboard planes.
The path forward
Despite the progress being made, the journey toward fully accessible transportation is far from over. While stronger regulations and new policies are steps in the right direction, how these measures get implemented is critical. Without proper enforcement, the barriers that disabled travelers face will continue.
The solutions must be shaped together with disabled leaders and people with diverse experiences of disability to ensure that the steps taken to remove existing barriers don’t inadvertently create new ones. Our own experiences give us unique insights into the challenges we face and the practicalities of real-world solutions.
A lot of the work is about shifting the mindset of the travel industry as a whole. The ability to travel freely is fundamental to our participation in society. Ensuring that disabled people can move through airports, board planes, and navigate foreign cities with ease should be a given, not a privilege.
As the Paralympics showcase the incredible achievements of athletes from around the world, it’s a reminder of the endurance and strength of the disabled community. But even as we celebrate their victories, we must recognize that the fight for accessibility will continue long after the games have ended.
