Rep. Jim Langevin, founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, was barred from boarding a flight last month due to his power wheelchair.
Rep. Jim Langevin was barred from boarding a flight twice in a year because airline staff believed that the lithium-ion batteries in his wheelchair were unsafe for boarding, according to The Washington Post.
Last month, when the congressman from Rhode Island, who is also a quadriplegic, planned to take a trip to Italy to visit military bases, Lufthansa airline staff at the Boston Logan International Airport stopped Langevin from passing the check-in counter and told him that the battery in his wheelchair could overheat and catch on fire, The Post reported.
This was despite the Department of Defense calling ahead of time to make sure his power wheelchair was allowed on the flight and having a letter from the manufacturer that said the wheelchair met federal and international rules.
Read the article by Anna Rose Layden at The Insider