Disabled Woman Flies United. She Ends Up Locked On The Jet Bridge Alone For 30 Minutes Waiting For A Wheelchair

A disabled woman who flew United Airlines to Vancouver says she was locked on a jet bridge by herself for a half an hour around midnight. During this time, she claims she was left sitting on her walker with the plane’s door shut behind her. She had asked for a wheelchair to get to the terminal, but says the gate agent claimed there wasn’t one on her reservation.

Birdie (@birdiecda), whose TikTok channel covers episodes from her life along with some disability advocacy, recorded the clip while she was purportedly stuck. Since she posted it last week, it has drawn more than 2.7 million views. “United locked me in the jet bridge, alone for 30 minutes waiting for a wheelchair,” reads the text over it.

“I don’t think you’re going to believe this because I’m shaking because I’m not believing it,” she says, describing being “stuck on the jet bridge with the plane closed, all by myself, nowhere to sit.” To viewers who pointed out that she is sitting down, she replied: “Had I not had my walker to use, I would have nowhere to sit and no ability to stand.”

In response to a request for comment, United Airlines said in a statement, “Our team in Vancouver responded as soon as we learned of this customer’s need for assistance, with one agent checking on her frequently while waiting for the person who could escort her through the airport. We take seriously the unique travel needs of customers who require the use of wheelchairs, and have reached out to this customer to further discuss her experience.”

‘I’m Gonna Have To Lock You In Here’

In a three-minute follow-up, Birdie says she was flying alone from the U.S. to Canada and had wheelchair help when she changed planes, so she assumed her booking included wheelchair assistance throughout. A flight attendant told her a wheelchair had been ordered, but on the jet bridge she found only her walker and bags.

When the flight attendant told the gate agent that Birdie would need a wheelchair to get up the jet bridge, “she said, ‘Well, it’s not on her reservation,’” Birdie says. The crew offered to help, but she says the agent told them they weren’t allowed into the secured area she would have to pass through, and they left.

“From the top of the jet bridge, I heard, ‘I’m gonna have to lock you in here,’” she says.

In a second follow-up, she says the gate agent eventually “unlocked the top of the jet bridge” and came down with a man pushing a wheelchair, who took her through customs. “He even apologized. I knew it wasn’t his fault,” she says.

Her estimates of the wait vary. In an update posted from Vancouver, she said it was “about an hour total from the time I de-planed to the time I got assistance,” about 25 minutes of it locked in alone. In the later video she puts it at 20 to 30 minutes, adding: “I really don’t know how long it was. I was terrified.” She says she has asked for the airport’s surveillance footage.

Birdie didn’t respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.

What The Rules Say

United is an American airline, and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) disability rules apply to U.S. carriers “regardless of where your operations take place.” Airlines must provide the deplaning assistance a disabled passenger requests, and promptly. They also cannot demand advance notice for it.

Canada’s accessible transportation regulations, which cover large airlines flying into the country, say a carrier “must make every reasonable effort” to provide a requested service even when the passenger hasn’t given notice.

A federal rule that some commenters alluded to bars airlines from leaving a passenger who has asked for help unattended “in a ground wheelchair, boarding wheelchair, or other device, in which the passenger is not independently mobile, for more than 30 minutes.”

In 2016, the DOT fined United $2.75 million after finding the airline “failed to provide passengers with disabilities prompt and adequate assistance with enplaning and deplaning aircraft” at five of its hubs. The order put $150,000 of that toward better audits of United’s wheelchair vendors, including tracking how long passengers wait for help.

‘My Mom Wanted Me To Call 911’

The most-liked comment came from themolliekay, who says she’s a former airport worker. “It’s VERY illegal to leave you alone in the jet bridge like that!” she wrote. “I would file a DOT complaint and talk to United!!” Birdie told another viewer: “I was absolutely terrified. My mom wanted me to call 911.”

Flight attendants in comments argued over who should have stayed with her. “We aren’t allowed to leave the jet bridge until all passengers are off the jet bridge unless a gate agent is down there,” wrote jastone73. Barbramarcella said that once passengers are off the aircraft, “it’s then the responsibility of the gate agent.”

A few viewers questioned whether she needed a wheelchair at all. “Disabilities are not always visible and shame on you for judging. I have explained my disability but I shouldn’t have to. If someone asks for assistance it should be provided,” Birdie retorted. To one who asked why she hadn’t booked it, she answered, “Respectfully, I did have one on my reservation.”

She says she is filing several complaints because she doesn’t want this “to happen to anyone else.” Passengers have six months from an incident to take a disability complaint to the DOT. In her latest update, Birdie says she didn’t feel comfortable flying home yet, so a friend was driving her to the border to meet her family.

@birdiecda #unitedairlines #disability #travel #traveltiktok #airport ♬ original sound – Birdie