DOT WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENT REMINDER
May 25, 2016
DOT’s website accessibility rule requires all pages of a carrier’s primary website used to advertise or sell air transportation that begins or ends in the U.S. must be accessible to individuals with disabilities under the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) standards developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. The core WCAG requirements are defined as:
- Booking or changing a reservation (including all flight amenities);
- Checking-in for a flight;
- Accessing a personal travel itinerary;
- Accessing the status of a flight;
- Accessing a personal frequent flyer account;
- Accessing flight schedules;
- Accessing carrier contact information.
DOT extended the Phase 1 compliance deadline for core website functions to June 30, 2016. The Phase 2 compliance deadline, which requires that all remaining components of the carrier’s website be made accessible, remains December 12, 2016. DOT recently advised that:
If the page is not owned or controlled by the carrier, DOT does not consider the page to be part of the airline’s primary website, and therefore, no requirement exists that it be accessible;
If the page is owned or controlled by the carrier, DOT will review the URL for that page. If the URL has the same domain as the primary website, DOT would consider it part of the carrier’s primary website and it would need to be accessible, even if the URL is not exactly the same.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require additional information on this rule.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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