28-year-old Wolf Jenkins documented his brazen wheelchair stunt via TikTok. Photo / Screenshot
28-year-old Wolf Jenkins documented his brazen wheelchair stunt via TikTok. Photo / Screenshot
One of the world's busiest airports has said it has a problem with travellers fraudulently claiming wheelchair assistance to bypass queues. Those in charge are blaming a mallicious social media trend.
On Tuesday Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said support requests for disabled passenger assistance is at an "all-time high" and not all of them are genuine.
This summer, wheelchair requests have risen by a fifth at London Heathrow and Birmingham airports.
Talking to LBC Radio the airport boss said that they were aware of fraudulent claims for wheelchair use.
"For passengers requiring wheelchair support, we have more demand than we had before the pandemic," he said.
Heathrow Airport boss John Holland-Kaye blames a TikTok 'travel hack' for delays for those with mobility issues saying some passengers are 'using wheelchair support to get through the airport faster.'@NickFerrariLBCpic.twitter.com/XZodA7a9Tm
"Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to try and get Fast-Tracked through the airport, and we need to protect that for the people who most need help."
Airport groups have had to buy additional wheelchairs and train more staff to cope with the surge in demand.
Holland-Kaye pointed the blame at malicious social media trends which he and airport staff had seen of passengers taking their support staff for a ride. Worse still, some where encouraging copycats to try the 'fast-track hack'.
'If you go on TikTok that is one of the travel hacks people are recommending," he said.
Fast Track Hack
Passengers requiring mobility assistance at Heathrow are able to bypass the queues at check in and security screening. In some terminals this includes transfer to gates and speedy boarding, via their airlines.
The London airport boss said he was aware of videos by travellers claiming to have gamed the system and fooled airport staff to giving them fast track access and priority boarding, simply by requesting a wheelchair.
A search of TikTok reveals step-by-step instructions to pulling off the brazen travel hack.
One prankster, Alfred Boling, broke it down into four parts and a 60 second video.
Alfred Boling said he 'pretended to be disabled' so he could get 'private boarding with the boys'. Photo / Screenshot TikTok
Step one: request extra assistance at check in and a public wheelchair. Two: sail through screening and departures with your travel companions. Three: get on the plane when priority boarding is called. Finally, four: keep up the act well after landing to get fast access to baggage claim and as to not arouse suspicion.
One traveller said he "faked hurting his leg to get through security quicker" flying home from Ibiza.
"Amazing what taking one sock off can achieve," wrote wolfjenko.
Travellers hacked off
Some pundits saw the Heathrow boss's fixation with the travel hacks as a distraction from the airport's real problems. This week Ryanair's CFO, Neil Sorahan, accused the airport of failing its "one job" to restaff and prepare for the forecast surge in demand for summer travel.
"We managed to staff up for 73 additional aircraft well in advance and it's incumbent on the airports to get their planning better next year," Sorahan told the BBC's Today programme.
Holland-Kaye hit back at the airline's claims that they were being failed by airports.
Airlines contract their own ground-handling agencies and - while airports are left to manage the chaos - it was the airlines and their contractors who were dropping the ball.
"It's bizarre that they should accuse airports for not hiring enough ground handlers - they're provided by airlines themselves. It's like accusing us of not having enough pilots."
Heathrow reported a pre-tax loss of £321million ($620 million) in the first half of the year having had to cap flight arrivals and cancel services due to staffing shortages.
