BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Disability, Rehabilitation, and Inclusion
ENABLING EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES FOR DYSPHAGIA PATIENTS: A CALL TO ACTION FOR THE AVIATION INDUSTRY
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lehigh University, Bethlehem, United States
- 2Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, Allentown, United States
- 3Geisinger Health, Danville, United States
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Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, can be the result of several etiologies such as stroke, neuromuscular disorders, head and neck injuries, or extrinsic compression of the esophagus. Patients with dysphagia are at severe risk of sequelae, such as aspiration and malnutrition, which present a severe risk of mortality. There is a significant need of implementing dysphagia -appropriate menu in commercial airlines. Among the general US population, there is a prevalent increase in dysphagia, which creates a substantial accessibility gap in commercial aviation food service. We reviewed publicly available in-flight menu options from the three largest U.S. carriers (American, United, and Delta) and classified items using the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework. Across economy-accessible menu items identified online, 56 (American), 67 (United), and 51 (Delta) items were classified to be concentrated in thin liquids (IDDSI 0-1) and regular/easy-to-chew foods (IDDSI 6-7), with no clearly identifiable mildly/moderately thick liquid options (IDDSI 2-3) based on posted descriptions.
Keywords: Air Travel, assistive transportation, dysphagia, equitable healthcare, Neuromuscular Disease
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 27 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Cino, Troxell, Seeley and Seshadri. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Anthony Cino
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