Here is a round-up of the latest news in the world of accessible travel and disability, including disabled people suing a California city over homeless encampments, a bipartisan bill that would shine a light on airline disability complaints, empty sections of accessible seats at a sporting event and more.
Accessible Travel News from Around the Web
- Disabled woman had to make 1,000+ phone calls to buy accessible Ed Sheeran tickets — Kat Watkins, a wheelchair user, is a regular concertgoer, but she can’t buy tickets online since she has to travel with a personal care assistant. When she tried to buy tickets for an Ed Sheeran concert, Kat had to make 1,000 calls just to secure tickets for accessible seats. This article from the BBC proposes a few steps venues should take to make accessible ticketing more accessible.
- I spoke to The Wall Street Journal about hotel resort fees — These days, the total cost of a hotel stay isn’t just the room rate and local taxes. Pesky resort and destination fees are popping up in hotels that aren’t resorts and in destinations that aren’t all that spectacular. The Wall Street Journal recently asked me to comment on how I deal with resort fees as a disabled traveler, and if there is any way to get out of them. If you’d like to dive a bit deeper, check out my article that asked the question, Should hotel resort fees apply to disabled guests?
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- Senator Duckworth proposes bill to illuminate airline disability complaints — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and her colleague Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) have introduced bipartisan legislation that would require the DOT to develop an annual report detailing disability complaints filed against airlines. In a statement, Senator Duckworth said. “By preventing disability-related complaints from being swept under the rug, our bipartisan bill would shine a light on these problems and help ensure that the millions of passengers with disabilities who fly every year are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
- ADA lawsuit targets Sacramento’s homeless camps that block sidewalks — Skyrocketing housing prices, inflation and the tapering of Covid-19 resources have led to increased homelessness across America. The return of homeless encampments to streets and sidewalks blocks access for disabled people and wheelchair users, and a class-action lawsuit filed against the City of Sacramento, California demands that proper sidewalk clearance be maintained. The lawsuit isn’t mean to pit disabled people against the homeless — in my view, the true offenders are governments that have failed to develop solutions for those forced to live on the streets.
- Fans complain about empty disabled seats at football match — Jack Kavanagh, a wheelchair user, took to Twitter to vent his frustration after seeing empty sections of accessible seats at a football match. He said that he had been told there were no accessible seats left, joined a waiting list and never heard back from the event organizers.
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