{"id":46759,"date":"2026-05-13T23:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759"},"modified":"2026-05-13T23:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:00:27","slug":"plus-sized-passenger-protests-being-denied-wheelchair-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759","title":{"rendered":"Plus-sized passenger protests being denied wheelchair assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Travel influencer Jaelynn Chaney is calling out Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) for what she describes as blatant discrimination after she was allegedly denied wheelchair assistance due to her size.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"bvlyi6a05d6af41712\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.bvlyi6a05d6af41712 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.bvlyi6a05d6af41712 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.bvlyi6a05d6af41712 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.bvlyi6a05d6af41712 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.bvlyi6a05d6af41712 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p>The 28-year-old, who has over 140,000 TikTok followers, staged a protest at the airport, holding a sign that read\u00a0<em>\u201cWheelchair Access for All\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and sharing a video detailing her experience.<\/p>\n<p>Chaney, who identifies as a 6XL, says she faced a distressing ordeal while flying into SeaTac in May 2024. According to her, an airport staff member assigned to provide assistance allegedly refused to help once they saw who they were expected to assist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe saw me, made a face, and walked away,\u201d Chaney recounted in the video. \u201cAll the other passengers received assistance but I was left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chaney, who can walk but regularly requests\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/wheelchair\/\">wheelchair<\/a>\u00a0support for long distances, says the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/airport\/\">airport<\/a>\u00a0incident forced her to walk one of the longest jet bridges she\u2019s ever encountered. By the time she reached the waiting wheelchair, she said her lips had turned white, her oxygen levels had dropped, and she nearly fainted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was my first time\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/flying\/\">flying<\/a>\u00a0without oxygen,\u201d she explained. \u201cThat employee made assumptions about what I could physically handle and decided not to help. That\u2019s not just bad service, that\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote id=\"v73674909639776200\" class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@goodmorningbritain\/video\/7470522524653194528\" data-video-id=\"7470522524653194528\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\"><p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed\/v2\/7470522524653194528?lang=en-US&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fen.newsner.com%2Fnews%2Fplus-sized-passenger-protests-being-denied-wheelchair-assistance%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwY2xjawRx4ZZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFEZ1FsdnhKZEdtTEl0VU9xc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvQNUsykSnuv2Ydr3BGTiwTFk8eNeu4BFIFWlh7APh_PNh2MSQjt6gXeBsbv_aem_tR8bl8Ubtl8es8_8bhC0hQ&amp;embedFrom=oembed\" name=\"__tt_embed__v73674909639776200\" sandbox=\"allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-same-origin\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In her caption, Chaney condemned SeaTac for what she calls a pattern of exclusion: \u201cIf SeaTac refuses to assist fat people, they should put their discrimination in writing. Instead, they lie, deny services, and leave disabled fat travelers stranded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cThis is unacceptable and I will not stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chaney has been a vocal advocate for better treatment of plus-size travelers, and this incident is just the latest example fueling her ongoing campaign. In 2023, she launched a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/demand-for-the-faa-to-protect-plus-size-travelers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">petition<\/a>\u00a0urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate a \u201ccustomer of size\u201d policy across all airlines. Her proposals include free extra seating for larger passengers, accessible seating options, and improved staff training.<\/p>\n<p>The petition has gained over 39,600 signatures so far, with supporters sharing their own frustrations in the comments. Many cited the physical and emotional discomfort of air travel, from bruised knees to open fat-shaming.<\/p>\n<p>One commenter noted: \u201cAfter being fat-shamed by a passenger sitting next to me, I no longer fly.\u201d Another added: \u201cI\u2019m tall, and I still leave flights with bruises. Airlines keep shrinking space, but expect us to just deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chaney believes this kind of mistreatment is part of a wider issue: \u201cPlus-size passengers face pain, humiliation, and sometimes outright refusal of service. That\u2019s not just uncomfortable, it\u2019s discriminatory. We deserve better.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travel influencer Jaelynn Chaney is calling out Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) for what she describes as blatant discrimination after she was allegedly denied wheelchair assistance due to her size. The 28-year-old, who has over 140,000 TikTok followers, staged a protest at the airport, holding a sign that read\u00a0\u201cWheelchair Access for All\u201d\u00a0and sharing a video detailing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,17,11,20,24,15,12,25,22,18,16,21,14,23,13],"class_list":["post-46759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-diseases","tag-fitness","tag-health-tips","tag-healthcare-technology","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-medical-advice","tag-medical-awareness","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health","tag-nutrition","tag-patient-care","tag-preventive-care","tag-public-health","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Plus-sized passenger protests being denied wheelchair assistance - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Plus-sized passenger protests being denied wheelchair assistance - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Travel influencer Jaelynn Chaney is calling out Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) for what she describes as blatant discrimination after she was allegedly denied wheelchair assistance due to her size. The 28-year-old, who has over 140,000 TikTok followers, staged a protest at the airport, holding a sign that read\u00a0\u201cWheelchair Access for All\u201d\u00a0and sharing a video detailing...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T23:00:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/497558115_1109230997902595_7904300410005329630_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1245\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vmfavorite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\"},\"headline\":\"Plus-sized passenger protests being denied wheelchair assistance\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T23:00:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\"},\"wordCount\":439,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/497558115_1109230997902595_7904300410005329630_n.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Chronic Diseases\",\"Fitness\",\"Health Tips\",\"Healthcare Technology\",\"Healthy Lifestyle\",\"Healthy Living\",\"Medical Advice\",\"Medical Awareness\",\"Medical Research\",\"Mental Health\",\"Nutrition\",\"Patient Care\",\"Preventive Care\",\"Public Health\",\"Wellness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=46759\",\"name\":\"Plus-sized passenger protests being denied wheelchair assistance - 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