U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HOLDS THIRD NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING COMMITTEE MEETING
August 1, 2016
The DOT Accessible Air Transportation Advisory (ACCESS) Committee held its third plenary session on July 13-14, 2016 in Washington D.C. Discussions included the feasibility of requiring accessible lavatories on single-aisle aircraft, the appropriate definition and utilization of service and emotional support animals, and accessibility of inflight entertainment and communications. Specific topics discussed included:
Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft
The Committee concluded:
(1) Any extension of existing single-aisle lavatories would result in a loss of seats or galley space on current aircraft;
(2) A fully accessible lavatory solution allowing room for passengers and attendants is not possible given existing aircraft configurations; and
(3) Boeing and Airbus single-aisle assembly lines are locked, preventing any lavatory reconfiguration for several years.
Other issues presented were proposed phase-in times for lavatory accessibility, the need for a standardized metric to assess which aircraft need to be made accessible, and an estimate for the cost of losing a row or more of seats or galley space for the accommodation of accessible lavatories.
Service Animals
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave a presentation on HUD’s management of requests for service animals and emotional support animals in public housing units, and participating airline representatives presented a survey of foreign regulations on service animal access in jurisdictions other than the United States. Airline representatives also voiced their concern that any proposal must address the issue of passenger abuses of service and/or emotional support animal designations to avoid paying transport fees.
Accessible Inflight Entertainment and Communication
Inflight entertainment accessibility advocates presented a proposal at the meeting requesting: (1) passengers with disabilities travelling on aircraft without fully accessible IFE be provided a portable device allowing for accessibility; (2) any new aircraft placed in service be made fully accessible; and (3) should any aircraft upgrades be performed, such upgrades must include fully accessible IFE. All proposals presented included the additional requirement that inflight communications be made similarly accessible as inflight entertainment.
The next plenary session of the ACCESS Committee will be held on August 16-17, 2016 in Washington D.C.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
Share This Post
Author
