The rules go into effect on January 16, 2025.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued new protections for air travelers with disabilities—primarily concerning those who use wheelchairs.
In what it calls “the biggest expansion of rights for passengers with disabilities in a generation,” the DOT added training requirements, set new standards for assistance, and specifies guidance on how airlines must respond when wheelchairs or scooters belonging to passengers are delayed or damaged.
“Every passenger deserves safe, dignified travel when they fly—and we’ve taken unprecedented actions to hold airlines accountable when they do not provide fair treatment to passengers with disabilities,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “With the new protections we’re announcing today, we’re establishing a new standard for air travel—with clear and thorough guidelines for airlines to ensure that passengers using wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.”
The DOT issued a record $50 million penalty against American Airlines in October for violating the existing standards for transporting passengers with mobility assistance needs.
The rule will set a standard of “safe and dignified assistance” for all passengers with disabilities, fully defining those terms in federal code, allowing the DOT to issue penalties to airlines who fail to provide “safe and dignified assistance” to passengers that request it—whether for mobility needs, or for other passengers with disabilities, such as those who travel with assistive devices or require other forms of assistance onboard or in airports.
Continue Reading Article After Our Video
Recommended Fodor’s Video
The rule focuses on passengers who travel with wheelchairs and scooters following discussions with airline passengers who were seriously affected by airline mishandling of mobility assistance, or for delaying or damaging their mobility devices.
The Department of Transportation estimates that 1% of wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights are delayed, damaged, or lost. Unlike other types of baggage, assistance devices like wheelchairs and scooters support passengers with disabilities in the performance of major life functions, so their delay, loss, or damage is more acutely felt.
Until the new ruling, airline policies on how they handle loss, delay, or damage of a wheelchair or scooter weren’t standardized. The new rules require prompt return of delayed scooters and wheelchairs, reimbursement for accessible ground transportation that passengers need while their wheelchairs or scooters are delayed, prompt repair when damaged, and arrangements of loaner wheelchairs and scooters for passengers facing delay or damage.
The rule will also require airlines to prominently publish the dimensions of the cargo doors and cargo holds of each of their aircraft, to allow passengers to determine at the time of booking whether their mobility devices can be accommodated on the aircraft scheduled for their flight. Airlines must now also rebook passengers using wheelchairs or scooters free of charge if the aircraft scheduled for the flight cannot fit the wheelchair or scooter in the cabin or as cargo, and they’ll be required to reimburse passengers who pay a higher fare to travel on another flight when the flight they wanted wasn’t available because the aircraft couldn’t accommodate their wheelchair or scooter.
Airlines will also be required to provide prompt assistance to passengers who request mobility assistance. The rule comes in response to complaints from many air travelers who require mobility assistance that airlines failed to respond to their needs promptly, causing them extended waits onboard the aircraft after arrival at the gate. Airlines will now be uniformly required to have assistance available by the time the last passenger who has not requested mobility assistance has left the aircraft.
Notification to passengers of when their scooter or wheelchair has been loaded is also a new requirement, and airlines will also be required to inform passengers how to file complaints and what their rights are when their wheelchairs or scooters have been mishandled.
Finally, the rule improves standards for onboard wheelchairs on smaller aircraft with seating for between 60 and 125 seats. Onboard wheelchairs are used by passengers with mobility needs during the flight if they’re not able to access their personal mobility devices in the cabin of the aircraft. The requirements for such wheelchairs were previously less stringent for smaller aircraft, and the DOT is now raising the standard to that used for larger aircraft. The U.S. also has stricter requirements for onboard wheelchairs than the European Union, where some airlines have been criticized for not providing wheelchairs onboard.
The final rule will be effective January 16, 2025, and most of the requirements will be slated for implementation by June, 2026.
