An empty wheelchair in an airport.
Alexander Schulz/EyeEm/Getty Images
  • Patty Bough told reporters she was stuck at the airport for 14 hours because she couldn't get a wheelchair.

  • Her family couldn't get her on a flight the same day and she had to fly to a different airport.

  • Reports of wheelchair users being abandoned by airport staff are on the rise.

An elderly wheelchair user was almost hospitalized after she was stuck at the airport for more than 14 hours.

According to Patty Bough, Frontier Airlines employees failed to wheel her to her gate after her granddaughter was denied entry at security to help her. She didn't show up at 9:00 a.m. Bough had a panic attack at the airport.

I had my blood pressure taken and they wanted to take me to the hospital. Bough told Fox 35 that he was upset.

Today was a bad day.

Bough was told to stay at the airport until she could find another flight. Her family wanted her placed on a Saturday evening flight after Frontier offered to put her on a flight Sunday.

Bough arrived at a different airport two hours away from Susie's house, which was where she was going to be picked up.

The person told Fox 35 that it turned into a nightmare. She's at the airport from 9 am to 10:30 pm today. It's two hours away from me when she arrives at the airport. We will not enter until 1 a.m.

It's up to the airline to give a gate pass to allow family members or health care providers without a boarding pass to assist wheelchair users, according to the TSA.

flyers can choose "add special services" while booking their tickets to get extra help.

Bough's initial reservation did not include a request for wheelchair assistance, but it was added to her updated reservation when the airline was made aware of the need.

The service provider didn't get a wheelchair assistance request for Bough. Requests should be made ahead of time. This caused a travel disruption. Ms. Bough was re booked on a different reservation.

Bough is one of a growing number of people who use wheelchairs. Morgan Jones, who suffers from a variety of diseases, told Insider's Hannah Towey that people who use wheelchairs are being ignored by airport staff.

There are mothers with babies stuck on the floor. Jones told Insider that no one has spoken about the vulnerable and ADA passengers' hell.

Business Insider has an article on it.