We had family visit for Thanksgiving, including my mother-in-law, who uses a walker after several hip fractures. Her airport adventures with her daughters and their luggage prompt me to jot down a few thoughts.
Even if you don’t drive, if you are disabled, you should get a handicapped parking permit. Most jurisdictions allow you to have two hang tags. This way, if you or a relative or companion drive to the airport and leave your car there, you can leave one hang tag on the car and bring the other with you to your destination.
On arrival at the airport, you should be able to request wheelchair assistance from the curbside check-in personnel to save having to struggle in to the terminal with the luggage.
Most if not all airports have terminal maps available on line; consult this prior to leaving for the airport to get an idea of a) where your airline’s check-in is and b) where ground transportation at your destination is.
If you use the airport’s wheelchair at your destination and you check bags, have the wheelchair pusher stay with you while you pick up your baggage. My relatives allowed the pusher to leave them at baggage claim, which meant that my mother-in-law had to walk from baggage claim to the car rental shuttles.
When renting a car, ask if curbside pickup is available. Many rental car agencies will bring the car to you at the terminal if you request it. When you return to the car rental agency, ask for curbside drop-off. An agency employee will drive you and your party in the car to the terminal, saving you from having to get out of the car with your luggage, get to the shuttle, board the shuttle, etc.
Yikes. I’ll bet THAT was fun. DIA is such an easy airport… *snort*