CANADIAN TRANSPORT AUTHORITY PROPOSES NEW ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION REGULATIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
April 11, 2019
On March 9, 2019, the Government of Canada proposed the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR). For large non-Canadian air carriers flying to, from, or within Canada, the rules will make mandatory a variety of service-level obligations for passengers with disabilities. Large air carriers are defined as those who transported at least 1 million passengers globally in each of the past two years, as well as carriers operating flights on a large carrier’s behalf. Also, code share partners who do not fly directly to Canada but partner with a large carrier will be subject to the regulations.
Obligations for carriers are defined in Part 2 in terms of service-level obligations toward passengers with disabilities (e.g., “if a meal is served on board to the person, [assist] the person with the meal by opening packages, identifying food items and their location and cutting larger food portions”). The enumerated requirements are very detailed and cover all stages of the passenger’s journey, including check-in, transportation to the aircraft, boarding, safety and comfort onboard, customs and immigration, retrieving baggage, and leaving the airport. Additionally, the regulations specify carrier obligations with respect to mobility aids, service animals, and buffer zones in seating to protect persons with severe allergies.
On Canadian domestic flights, further requirements will apply to provide an extra seat at no extra cost for a person assisting a disabled passenger or for a passenger whose disability requires accommodation with an extra seat. For the moment, these requirements do not apply to international flights.
Affected carriers should review these proposed rules carefully to ensure their accommodations of passengers with disabilities will be compliant. A backgrounder issued by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) can be found here: https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/backgrounder-accessible-transportation-persons-disabilities-regulations. The public may submit comments on the proposed regulation until April 8, 2019, and final revised rules are expected this summer. If you have any questions or would like assistance with preparing comments, please let us know.
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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