DOT ISSUES NEW POLICIES ON REPORTING DATA FOR MISHANDLED BAGGAGE AND WHEELCHAIRS
December 10, 2018
DOT issued in November a Technical Directive and an Enforcement Policy related to reporting requirements for mishandled baggage and wheelchair data that will go into effect on January 1, 2019 for U.S. carriers. At this time, the Technical Directive and Enforcement policy will not be applicable to foreign airlines operating to or from the United States.
In general, those air carriers captured by the Technical Directive must report to DOT all bags (including wheelchairs and scooters) reported by or on behalf of passengers as lost, damaged, delayed, or pilfered, that occurred in the custody of the air carrier or the custody of its code-share partner for domestic flights to or from any U.S. large, medium, small or non-hub airport. Under the revised rules, instead of being required to submit a monthly tally of mishandled bag reports by passengers, reporting carriers will be required to report the actual number of mishandled bags. Reporting carriers also will be required to separately report the number of wheelchairs and scooters that were enplaned and the number of these items that were mishandled.
In its Enforcement Notice, the Department noted that carriers have cited the practical obstacles to reporting the number of actual mishandled bags when the bags pass through the custody of more than one carrier on a single itinerary. DOT plans to address these complexities in a future rulemaking, Reporting of Data for Mishandled Baggage and Wheelchairs and Scooters in Aircraft Cargo Compartments II. In the interim, for domestic itineraries that span multiple carriers on a single ticket, reporting carriers will be deemed compliant if they either identify which carrier mishandled a bag, and that carrier reports it, or if the carrier operating the last flight segment reports the mishandling.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Alexander Matthews (amatthews@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6633).
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