Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Piotrus

It’s become one of the larger travel scams out there. It’s about requesting wheelchairs at the airport.

If you have a mobility issue, you can legitimately request a wheelchair to take you to your gate.

So someone will wheel you to a priority position at airport security and then pre-boarding at the gate.

Here’s the problem: anyone can request a wheelchair without having to prove they actually need one.

Therein lies the scam.

Perfectly ambulatory folks are scamming the wheelchairs to be first in line.

In the airline business, flight crews call them miracle flights.

Why? Because when the plane lands and it’s time to disembark, these same passengers can suddenly walk.

Currently, there is no Department of Transportation rule or requirement about who can order a wheelchair.

But it’s getting out of control.

On one recent flight, the airline counted 178 wheelchairs.

There is nothing currently being done to stop the scam.

For more information about air travel, check out:

• The Truth About Airline On Time Performance
• Watch Out for These New Airline Fees 
• The Fight Continues for Uber & Taxis at Airports

Keep reading for more travel tips.