For Disabled Travelers, Technology Helps Smooth the Way. But Not All of It.

Technology is fast changing how people with disabilities get to and then navigate airports and train and bus stations. But technology can go only so far: Its advantages usually stop at the door of the plane, train or bus.

Consider the experience of Michael May, who is blind and typically flies at least once a week. Mr. May, the executive director of Envision’s BVI Workforce Innovation Center, which provides employment training for the blind and visually impaired in Wichita, Kan., says he uses airline apps at home to secure his boarding pass, takes Uber to the airport and gets dropped off as close as possible to the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck. (He’s also enrolled in the Clear program to speed his way through airport security.)

But then he hits what he calls a void — he has to ask someone how to get to the security line. And in frenzied airports, he doesn’t always get a response. “I’m looking forward to having indoor navigation to the point where I can at least get to PreCheck,” he said.

Mr. May has a cane and Jonnie, his golden retriever guide dog. He also draws on screen-reader software and smartphone apps. He uses the free app Be My Eyes, which relies on a network of 1.2 million volunteers to provide directions through the airport via live video. In addition, he uses Aira, a monthly subscription app that uses a smartphone camera or a pair of glasses outfitted with a camera to live-stream video to an agent, who then provides navigational instructions. Ten airports, including ones in Seattle, Boston, Houston, Memphis and Minneapolis, currently offer zones where blind and visually impaired travelers can download the Aira appand use the service without charge. (Several more airports are expected to offer complimentary service this summer.)

David Wilson, the director of innovation at the Sea-Tac Airport, says blind travelers no longer have to rely on wheelchair attendants. “With Aira, they can get up and go to a restroom, go to a concession,” he said. “It’s independence.”

Still, the Americans With Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990, applies to airports and ground transportation — trains, buses and subways. But airline cabins are governed by the Air Carrier Access Act, which was enacted in 1986 and does not carry as many accessibility requirements. If, for example, someone uses a motorized wheelchair, it must be checked at the end of the jetway. Wheelchair assistants, often contractors, help the passenger transfer to a wheelchair that can fit down the narrow aisles and then to their seat (a foldable aisle wheelchair is also kept on board).

“The most accessible feature on an airplane is the fact that the arm rest lifts up to get in and out of the seat, and that’s about it,” said Lee Page, a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair full time and serves as the senior advocacy director for Paralyzed Veterans of America.

A spokesman for Delta Air Lines, Anthony Black, said its gate agents must complete a “comprehensive accessibility curriculum” for travelers with disabilities that includes training on everything from handling service animals to transfer assistance onto a plane. A spokesman for United Airlines, Charles Hobart, said the carrier had a 24-hour accessibility deskand also trained all of the employees who work directly with customers on how to assist passengers with disabilities. Southwest Airlines said all of its customer representatives were trained to help customers with disabilities, and it maintained a video relay and a Teletypewriter number for deaf travelers.

But disabled travelers, including Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, an associate professor of philosophy at Gallaudet University, who is deaf, say airlines could improve their training. She said she would like airlines to do a better job of reassuring deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers that “our presence has been noted and that we will not be overlooked.”

Sheryl Stroup, a safety expert for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said flight attendants were responsible for communicating directly with disabled passengers to make sure their needs are met. “You need to go ask them, ‘How can I best assist you?’” she said.

Ms. Blankmeyer Burke says she wears a brightly colored piece of clothing or a distinctive hat so that she’s readily identifiable and introduces herself to the ticketing crew at the airport, train station or bus terminal with a note.

“I print out a script that tells the flight attendants a little bit about my communication needs and abilities, where I am sitting, and also notes my beverage preferences and my destination,” she said in an email. “In this document, I explicitly state that I want important announcements written and I ask who will be responsible for communicating with me in case of emergency.”

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