ENSURING SAFE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR AIR TRAVELERS WITH DISABILITIES USING WHEELCHAIRS
March 1, 2024
On February 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT or “the Department”) announced an upcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) expanding requirements airlines must meet for accommodating passengers with disabilities who require use of a wheelchair. The NPRM proposes to set new standards for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passenger with disabilities. The NPRM also outlines specific actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is mishandled in transport. Moreover, causing damage to or delay in returning wheelchairs to passengers would become an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act (“ACAA”), allowing DOT to have a greater ability to hold airlines accountable for violations. The Department seeks comments on the NPRM which must be received within sixty (60) days of the date the notice is published in the Federal Register. In addition to the wheelchair related issues noted above, DOT also seeks comments regarding: 1) The size standards for lavatories on twin-aisle aircraft with respect to sufficient room for both a passenger with a disability and an attendant to enter and maneuver within; and 2) reimbursement of airfare difference between the fare on a flight a wheelchair user took and the fare on a flight that the wheelchair user would have taken if their wheelchair had been able to fit in the aircraft.
Breaking things down further, the proposed rule would take major actions in three key areas:
- Penalties and remedies for wheelchair mishandling
-
- (a) Mishandling wheelchairs as automatic violations of the ACAA which includes wheelchairs being lost, delayed, damaged, or stolen.
- It also proposes to require airlines to immediately notify affected passengers of their right to file a claim with the airline, receive a loner wheelchair from the airline, choose a preferred vendor for repairs or replacements, and have a Complaints Resolution Officer available.
- (b) Prompt repair or replacement of damaged wheelchairs.
- (c) Loaner wheelchair accommodations when wheelchair is manhandled.
- (a) Mishandling wheelchairs as automatic violations of the ACAA which includes wheelchairs being lost, delayed, damaged, or stolen.
- Safe, dignified, and prompt assistance
-
- (a) Enhanced airline employee training for assisting passengers with wheelchair.
- (b) Prompt return of delayed wheelchair within 24 hours of the passenger’s arrival.
- (c) Safe and dignified assistance.
- (d) Prompt assistance when enplaning, deplaning, or moving through the airport terminal.
- Improved standards on planes
-
- (a) Improved standards for on-board wheelchairs for smaller aircraft consistent with existing standards for single aisle aircraft with 125 or more seats.
- (b) Notifications of loading and unloading of cargo traveling wheelchairs.
Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to file a comment about the NPRM.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202-659-6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
Share This Post
Authors
