A question for cabin crew

[CassandraWebb]

If you work as cabin crew on a plane, can you help me understand this /how best to deal with it?

I have a condition that means I can walk a bit, but I get weaker the further I walk and I weaken rapidly if I stand for any period of time.

I fly a bit for work /to see family and use my electric wheelchair to get through the airport but I always say I am fine to use the steps onto the plane.

On landing those of us with mobility issues are always asked to stay in our seats till the cabin crew call us forward.

But on quite a number of occasions cabin crew have called me forward and down the steps and then I have realised my chair isn't out of the plane yet. Standing waiting makes me ill rapidly and actually causes me to get double vision too which makes me feel very vulnerable in a busy airport.

Now I try and check if the chair is there yet and ask to remain seated on the plane. I hope that is ok? But I don't really understand why it isn't obvious to cabin crew that someone with mobility issues would need to know their chair is available before they get out of their seat?

Can't you just sit down again in the nearest seat until your chair is ready?

Sorry, just realised you've already gone down the steps. But assistance will vary according to airport, ground crew and possibly the needs of passengers. You just need to say you can't go down the steps until your chair is there and if needed sit on one of the seats near the floor back until it is.

Not cabin crew but in a very similar position as a power chair user - why don’t you use the manual wheelchair push service sod the steps and get them to take you straight to your chair ? I can’t do steps so it’s what I’d do

I have done that if I realise before I get down the steps. But the first few times it happened it wasn't obvious to me till I was down the steps.

I also guess I feel like I am being rude when they come and get me to get off the plane and then I have to ask to sit back down again

I have learnt to be assertive because it's life or death for me now, but it still isn't my natural mode

I am probably being dopey but I don't quite understand. The people waiting to be pushed in wheelchairs were also left standing at the bottom of the steps with me.

A short walk /steps is very manageable for me, but standing for even a few moments makes my symptoms worse very rapidly

In my experience I have been lifted on to a sort of truck and brought down and then pushed around the terminal to my things and then out to the exit never left sitting at the bottom of some steps!

I'm ex crew and it’s really driven by ground staff, they tell us they are ready for you and we ask you to leave the plane ( other duties need to be completed in that time with no passengers, or always used to) I would have had no issue with you waiting in board for your chair to be off loaded and made ready. Be clear to the crew and they can liaise with the ground on landing

Fab so maybe just if I check with the crew my chair is ready before I get up from my seat? I feel bad as I know the cabin crew are busy and need the plane emptied but standing makes me ill very rapidly

Not cabin crew but a passenger in a similar situation.

I never use the steps for this reason and book assistance all the way onto the plane.

I need my energy for before and after the trip and can't risk squandering it by having to stand unexpectedly, often in the heat

This happens at big airports where there are multiple passengers with mobility issues but I am often flying to smaller airports /on smaller planes. And I have no problem navigating steps it's standing still or walking long distances that makes me unwell

Yes maybe I just need to stop saying I can manage steps. I just am trying to be helpful I guess and not ask for more help than I need. But you are right that even a few minutes left standing (Particularly in the heat) could make me ill for the entire trip

In similar circumstances I have just laid down on the tarmac. Embarrassing but necessary.

As ex cabin crew I would have noticed a horizontal passenger and speeded up assistance.

It’s very hard to tell when so many need assistance whilst others NEED assistance and which to prioritise especially when it’s something that ground crew have asserted is in hand.

I didn't think about sitting down on the tarmac but I was worried /embarrassed. Although my vision going meant a member of staff had to guide me through and out of the airport to my family member so maybe it would have been the less disruptive option?

Yeah I kind of get that. To a causal observer I look completely able bodied.
I guess its why I want to figure out the best way to handle it nicely.

I don't know if this might help, but I have a cane with a fold out seat. I bring it everywhere with me now, and it's great for those moments where I have to stand in a long queue or a similar situation to the one you describe. Search Amazon for ideas if you feel it might work for you, or any mobility shop.

I have thought about those but I have weak arm muscles /carrying things weakens my speech and swallow. So I try and keep "stuff" to a minimum. I realise I could walk with it like a cane but I dont need a cane - I prefer to rest before I get to the point my legs are that weak. I also have weak core /neck muscles so chairs I have to "perch" on aren't ideal

They are a good option for some people though I agree.

Yes absolutely check with the crew before disembarking. Most crew will be happy for you to wait till you have what you need ( I always was )