In defense of IslandBoi’s comment, I have seen this exact situation on several occasions, both before and since my personal need for the service arose.

In one case in particular, the lines at JFK were horrendous and a young woman said, loud enough for us to hear her, “Watch this,” at which point she snagged an empty wheelchair in the immigration hall and managed to go to the head of the line.

There will always be those who do try to scam the system but I’m personally inclined to believe the innate goodness in most people will preclude them from doing this and possibly denying or at least delaying the service for one who really needs it.

All that said, I’m really glad AA at MIA has improved the situation there since our last trip through that airport was a minor nightmare, and major Kudos to Carol for complementing the wc attendant to the airline.