DOT CLARIFIES MEANING OF “IN EASILY ACCESSIBLE FORM”
October 8, 2015
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections; Final Rule (Consumer Rule 2) requires carriers to post on their website copies of their tarmac delay plans, customer service plans and conditions of carriage. These documents must be made available to the travelling public and posted on-line “in easily accessible form.” Industry stakeholders interpreted this requirement in myriad ways, which led DOT to issue updated guidance as to its specific interpretation of the term “in easily accessible form” in the context of the above-referenced requirement. DOT’s updated guidance notes that the purpose of the requirement is to ensure that consumers can easily find those documents and suggested that carriers consider placing links on their homepage that would take consumers to those relevant documents. It would not be acceptable for a carrier to make its tarmac delay plan, customer service plan, or conditions of carriage available only after a consumer clicks through numerous links or pages on the website. DOT’s guidance is useful in determining how DOT will evaluate carrier websites and how it will assess possible enforcement action for non-compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).