Happy new year everyone!

 

Today’s blog entry looks at the DOT final rule issued last month on ensuring safe accommodation for air travelers with disabilities using wheelchairs. We previously blogged on the proposed rule in the blog entry on March 18, 2024, here. This blog entry is set up similarly to that blog entry by dividing itself into the categories of: actual regulations themselves (I couldn’t figure out how to copy and paste the summary section of the regulations into this blog entry), and thoughts/takeaways (in the thoughts/takeaways section our main focus is going to be on the communication provisions, which is obviously personal to me. I realize that I am siloing here, and I apologize for that. However, it is the area that I am personally most familiar with).

 

I

Actual Regulations

 

Subpart A—General Provisions

  1. Amend § 382.3 by adding in alphabetical order definitions for “Custody”, “Dignified”, “Hands-on training”, “Mishandled”, and “Safe” to read as follows:

What do the terms in this rule mean?

* * * * *

Custody means the time period when a passenger has checked a wheelchair, scooter, or other assistive device with a carrier and the carrier has control of a passenger’s wheelchair, scooter, or other assistive device.

(1) An airline’s custody begins when the passenger hands the device to an airline’s representative or agent or leaves the wheelchair, scooter, or other assistive device at a location as instructed by the airline.

(2) An airline’s custody ends when the passenger, or someone acting on behalf of the passenger, or another airline takes physical possession of the wheelchair, scooter, or other assistive device.

* * * * *

Dignified means assistance provided in a manner that respects a passenger’s independence, autonomy, and privacy, which includes but is not limited to: airline personnel providing transfer assistance in a manner that ensures the passenger’s clothing is not removed; airline personnel not unduly delaying requests for access to a restroom such that the individual soils himself or herself; and, to the maximum extent possible, airline personnel communicating directly with the individual with disability ( e.g., rather than his or her companion or another individual) when the individual with disability is interacting with them.

* * * * *

Hands-on training means in-person training that is received by an employee or contractor where the employee or contractor can learn and practice real-life scenarios in a safe and controlled environment without the possibility of real-life consequences to passengers with disabilities and with the use of a suitable life-sized model or equipment, as appropriate.

* * * * *

Mishandled means lost, delayed, damaged, or pilfered.

* * * * *

Safe means assistance provided to individuals with disabilities that does not put them at heightened risk of bodily injury, which may include loss or damage to wheelchairs and other assistive devices that result in bodily injury.

* * * * *

Subpart B—Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information

  1. In § 382.11, redesignate paragraph (b) as paragraph (c) and add new paragraph (b) to read as follows:

What is the general nondiscrimination requirement of this part?

* * * * *

(b) As a carrier or an indirect carrier, the assistance you provide with respect to this part must be performed in a safe and dignified manner.

* * * * *

Subpart C—Information for Passengers

  1. Revise § 382.41 to read as follows:

What flight-related information must carriers provide to qualified individuals with a disability?

(a) As a carrier, you must provide the following information, on request, to qualified individuals with a disability or persons making inquiries on their behalf concerning the accessibility of the aircraft expected to make a particular flight. The information you provide must be specific to the aircraft you expect to use for the flight unless it is unfeasible for you to do so ( e.g., because unpredictable circumstances such as weather or a mechanical problem require substitution of another aircraft that could affect the location or availability of an accommodation). The required information is:

(1) The specific location of seats, if any, with movable armrests ( i.e., by row and seat number);

(2) The specific location of seats ( i.e., by row and seat number) that the carrier, consistent with this part, does not make available to passengers with a disability ( e.g., exit row seats);

(3) Any aircraft-related, service-related or other limitations on the ability to accommodate passengers with a disability, including limitations on the availability of level-entry boarding to the aircraft at any airport involved with the flight. You must provide this information to any passenger who states that he or she uses a wheelchair for boarding, even if the passenger does not explicitly request the information.

(4) Any limitations on the availability of storage facilities, in the cabin or in the cargo bay, for mobility aids or other assistive devices commonly used by passengers with a disability, including storage in the cabin of a passenger’s wheelchair as provided in §§ 382.67 and 382.123;

(5) Information regarding accessibility of lavatories ( see § 382.63(h)); and

(6) The types of services to passengers with a disability that are or are not available on the flight.

(b) As a carrier, you must publish information in a prominent and easily accessible place on your public-facing website(s) describing the relevant dimensions and other characteristics of the cargo holds of all aircraft types you operate, including the dimensions of the cargo hold entry, that would limit the size, weight, and allowable type of cargo.

Subpart E—Accessibility of Aircraft

  1. In § 382.65, revise paragraph (h) to read as follows:

* * * * *

(h)(1) If you replace an on-board wheelchair supplied on aircraft with an FAA-certificated maximum seating capacity of 125 or more after October 2, 2026, then you must replace it with an on-board wheelchair that meets the standards set forth in paragraph (e) of this section.

(2) After October 2, 2026, if you purchase or otherwise obtain a new on-board wheelchair for use on aircraft with more than 60 passenger seats, it must meet the standards set forth in paragraph (e) of this section.

(3) Any on-board wheelchair supplied on aircraft with an FAA-certificated maximum seating capacity of more than 60 passenger seats and that has an accessible lavatory and that was delivered after October 2, 2026, must meet the standards set forth in paragraph (e) of this section.

(4) After October 2, 2031, any on-board wheelchair that you provide for passengers’ use on aircraft with more than 60 passenger seats must meet the standards set forth in paragraph (e) of this section.

(5) For purposes of paragraphs (h)(2) through (4) of this section, you must acquire OBWs that comply with as many of the safety and accessibility requirements in paragraph (e) of this section as are available. You must inform the Department at the address cited in 14 CFR 382.159 that an on-board wheelchair meeting that requirement is unavailable, if that is the case.

Subpart G—Boarding, Deplaning, and Connecting Assistance

  1. Section 382.89 is added to subpart G to read as follows:

How timely must the service required under this Subpart be provided by carriers to passengers with disabilities?

(a) As a carrier, the assistance you provide with respect to this subpart must be performed in a prompt manner.

(b) Whether the assistance is prompt is dependent on the totality of the circumstances, except, for as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section.

(c) Prompt assistance for a person who uses a boarding chair ( i.e., aisle chair) in deplaning means:

(1) Personnel and boarding chair must be available to deplane the passenger when the last passenger who did not request deplaning assistance departs the aircraft;

(2) The passenger’s personal wheelchair must be available as close as possible to the door of the aircraft to the maximum extent possible, except:

(i) Where this practice would be inconsistent with Federal regulations governing transportation security or the transportation of hazardous materials; or

(ii) When the passenger requests the wheelchair be returned at a location other than the door of the aircraft; and

(3) When a passenger’s personal wheelchair is not available at the door of the aircraft for the reasons set forth in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, an airport wheelchair must be available as close as possible to the door of the aircraft for the passenger’s use.

  1. In § 382.95, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:

What are carriers’ general obligations with respect to boarding and deplaning assistance?

(a) As a carrier, you must provide or ensure the provision of assistance requested by or on behalf of passengers with a disability, or offered by carrier or airport operator personnel and accepted by passengers with a disability, in enplaning and deplaning. This assistance must include, as needed, the services of personnel and the use of ground wheelchairs, accessible motorized carts, boarding wheelchairs, and/or on-board wheelchairs where provided in accordance with this part, and ramps or mechanical lifts.

* * * * *

Subpart I—Stowage of Wheelchairs, Other Mobility Aids, and Other Assistive Devices

  1. In § 382.125, add paragraphs (e) and (f) to read as follows:

What procedures do carriers follow when wheelchairs, other mobility aids, and other assistive devices must be stowed in the cargo compartment?

* * * * *

(e) You must notify passengers in writing when they check wheelchairs or scooters to be stowed in the baggage compartment that they have the right to contact a CRO, how they can contact a CRO, and the right to file a claim with the airline if their wheelchairs or scooters are mishandled while in your custody. You must provide this notification in an accessible format for individuals with disabilities.

(f)(1) You must notify passengers with disabilities, before the aircraft cabin door closes, whether their wheelchairs or scooters have been loaded in the cargo compartments of their flights, including whether their device could not fit on the passenger’s scheduled flight because of its size or weight.

(2) If a passenger’s wheelchair or scooter is not loaded on his or her scheduled flight for whatever reason, you must offer to disembark the passenger and rebook them at no additional cost on the next available flight operated by you or a partner carrier. In addition, when you become aware that a passenger’s wheelchair or scooter does not fit on the passenger’s scheduled flight, if that is the case, you must offer to rebook the passenger at no additional cost on the next available flight operated by you or a partner carrier where the wheelchair or scooter will fit, if such an aircraft is available.

(3) You must notify passengers with disabilities, before they deplane, when their wheelchairs or scooters have been unloaded from the cargo compartments of their flights upon arrival.

(4) You must provide the notifications required by paragraphs (f)(1) and (3) of this section in an accessible format for individuals with disabilities.

  1. Section 382.130 is added to read as follows:

What are the handling requirements for wheelchairs, scooters, other mobility aids, and other assistive devices and what obligations apply when wheelchairs or other assistive devices are mishandled?

(a) You must return checked wheelchairs, scooters, other mobility aids, and other assistive devices to the passenger in the condition in which you received them. Whenever a passenger’s checked wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or other assistive device that was in your custody is not returned to the passenger in the same condition it was received, there is a rebuttable presumption that you mishandled the passenger’s wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or other assistive device in violation of the ACAA.

(1) The presumption of a violation in this paragraph (a) can be overcome if you can successfully demonstrate that the alleged mishandling of the wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or other assistive device did not occur while the wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or assistive device was in your control and custody ( e.g., the damage occurred before the passenger checked the wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or assistive device; the damage occurred after you returned the wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or assistive device to the passenger) or that the passenger’s claim is false or fraudulent.

(2) The presumption of a violation in this paragraph (a) cannot be overcome by demonstrating that the mishandling of a checked wheelchair, scooter, other mobility aid, or other assistive device is the result of “an act of God” or other circumstances beyond the control of the airline.

(b) When you become aware that a passenger’s wheelchair or scooter has been mishandled ( i.e., your personnel notices that the wheelchair or assistive device has been mishandled or the passenger notifies airline personnel of the mishandling of the wheelchair or assistive device, whichever occurs first), you must immediately notify the impacted passenger in writing of his or her rights to file a claim with the carrier, to receive a loaner wheelchair or scooter from the carrier with certain customizations described in paragraph (e) of this section, to choose a preferred vendor for repairs or replacement of the device, and to have a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO) available and be provided information on how to contact the CRO. You must provide this notification in an accessible format for individuals with disabilities.

(c)(1) When a passenger’s checked wheelchair or scooter has been delayed while in your custody, you must ensure that the device is transported to the passenger’s final destination within 24 hours of the passenger’s arrival for domestic flights and short international flights between the United States and a foreign point that is 12 hours or less in duration and within 30 hours of the passenger’s arrival for long international flights between the United States and a foreign point that is more than 12 hours in duration. You must transport the delayed device by whatever means are available to safely do so.

(2) You must provide passengers a choice between picking up the delayed wheelchair or scooter at the passenger’s final destination airport or having the delayed wheelchair or scooter delivered to a reasonable location requested by the passenger, such as the passenger’s home or hotel. Depending on the passenger’s choice, the delayed wheelchair or scooter is considered to be provided to the passenger either when the passenger or another person authorized to act on behalf of the passenger picks up the delayed wheelchair or scooter at his or her destination airport or when you deliver the delayed wheelchair or scooter to the passenger or another person authorized to act on behalf of the passenger at a reasonable location requested by the passenger, such as the passenger’s home or hotel.

(3) If a passenger files a claim with you for a delayed wheelchair or scooter, you must provide them updates when there is a status change for the delayed device.

(4) In consultation with disability rights organizations, you must establish and provide safe and adequate seating accommodations at the airport to be used by individuals with disabilities who are waiting for delayed personal wheelchairs or scooters or waiting for loaner wheelchairs or scooters after a passenger’s wheelchair or scooter is mishandled by you and cannot be promptly returned.

(5) You must reimburse passengers for the cost(s) of any transportation to or from the airport that the passenger incurred as a direct result of you delaying the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter. You may require passengers to submit documentation that substantiates the cost(s), such as receipts or invoices, to receive reimbursement.

(d) When a passenger’s checked wheelchair or scooter has been lost, damaged, or pilfered while in your custody, you must:

(1) Provide the passenger a reasonable timeframe to inspect the wheelchair or scooter and to file a claim with the carrier for the mishandling;

(2) Provide the passenger the following options if repair or replacement is needed:

(i) The passenger may file a claim with you and elect for the carrier to handle the repair or replacement of the wheelchair or scooter. If the passenger selects this option, you must promptly repair or replace the wheelchair or scooter, with a device of equivalent or greater function and safety, and pay the cost of repair or replacement; or

(ii) The passenger may file a claim with you and elect to use the passenger’s preferred vendor to repair or replace the wheelchair or scooter. If the passenger selects this option, you are responsible for promptly transporting the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter to the passenger’s preferred vendor, unless the passenger has indicated that he or she will arrange for the transport themselves, and for directly paying the cost of transport and repair or replacement, with a device of equivalent or greater function and safety; and

(3) Promptly review all claims received within a reasonable time of the repaired or replaced wheelchair or scooter being returned to the passenger alleging that the provided repairs were not sufficient. If the passenger’s claim is warranted and the initial repairs were insufficient, then you must promptly repair or replace the device to the passenger’s satisfaction.

(e) While the passenger is waiting for his or her mishandled personal wheelchair or scooter to be returned, repaired, or replaced, you must use your best efforts to work with the passenger and to provide an adequate loaner wheelchair or scooter that meets the passenger’s functional, mobility-related and safety-related needs, to the maximum extent possible. You must pay for the cost of the loaner wheelchair or scooter. If the loaner wheelchair or scooter you offer does not meet the passenger’s functional and safety-related needs as well as the passenger’s existing device, the passenger may find and secure an alternative loaner wheelchair or scooter that is better than the one you offered, and you must reimburse the passenger for the cost of that loaner within 30 days of the passenger’s request. You may require the passenger to provide documentation substantiating the cost, such as receipts or invoices, to receive the reimbursement.

(f) The liability limits for carriers under the Montreal Convention will apply if the wheelchair or scooter mishandling occurs on an international flight.

  1. Section 382.132 is added to read as follows:

What requirements apply when a passenger who uses a wheelchair or scooter cannot purchase a certain flight because his or her wheelchair or scooter will not fit in the cabin or cargo compartment of the aircraft for that flight?

(a) As part of your obligation under § 382.11 to not exclude a qualified individual with a disability from or deny the person the benefit of any air transportation or related services that are available to other persons, to the extent a passenger who uses a wheelchair or scooter cannot book his or her preferred flight because his or her wheelchair or scooter cannot fit in the cabin or cargo compartment of the aircraft of the preferred flight, and the passenger must book a more expensive flight that can accommodate the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter, you must, upon request, reimburse the passenger the difference between the more expensive flight the passenger purchased and had to take and the preferred flight that the passenger would have purchased and taken if his or her wheelchair or scooter had been able to fit.

(b) As a condition for issuing reimbursements in paragraph (a) of this section, you may require the following from passengers with disabilities:

(1) The preferred flight and the more expensive flight are on the same airline;

(2) The preferred flight and the more expensive flight are on the same day;

(3) The preferred flight and the more expensive flight have the same origin and destination;

(4) Reasonable documentation to verify: the dimensions of the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter; the cost of the passenger’s preferred flight that could not accommodate the passenger’s wheelchair or scooter; and the cost of the more expensive flight the passenger purchased and had to take.

(c) You must provide the reimbursement required by paragraph (a) of this section within 30 days of receiving a request and the reasonable documentation permitted in paragraph (b) of this section, if you require such documentation.

(d) You must disclose on your website accurate information on the documentation you require from the passenger to support a reimbursement claim.

Subpart J—Training and Administrative Provisions

  1. Revise § 382.141 to read as follows:

What training are carriers required to provide for their personnel ( i.e., employees and contractors)?

(a) As a carrier that operates aircraft with 19 or more passenger seats, you must ensure training, meeting the requirements of this paragraph, for all personnel who interact with the traveling public or who handle passengers’ assistive devices, as appropriate to the duties of each employee or contractor.

(1) General. You must ensure training to proficiency concerning:

(i) The requirements of this part and other applicable Federal regulations affecting the provision of air travel to passengers with a disability;

(ii) Your procedures, consistent with this part, concerning the provision of air travel to passengers with a disability, including the proper and safe operation of any equipment used to accommodate passengers with a disability; and

(iii) Your procedures that safeguard the safety and dignity of passengers with disabilities when providing service required under this part.

(2) Communication. You must ensure employees and contractors who interact with the traveling public are trained with respect to awareness of different types of disabilities, including how to distinguish among the differing abilities of individuals with disabilities.

(i) You must ensure such employees and contractors are trained on appropriate ways to communicate and interact with passengers with disabilities, including persons with physical, sensory, speech, mental, intellectual, or emotional disabilities ( e.g., communicating directly with the individual with a disability instead of to the travel companion/interpreter).

(ii) You must also ensure such employees and contractors are trained to recognize requests for effective communication accommodation from individuals who have disabilities impacting communication ( e.g., hearing or vision impaired individuals, non-verbal individuals), and to use the most common methods for communicating with these individuals that are readily available, such as writing notes or taking care to enunciate clearly, for example. Training in sign language is not required. You must also train these employees to recognize requests for communication accommodations from deaf-blind passengers and to use established means of communicating with these passengers when they are available, such as passing out Braille cards if you have them, reading an information sheet that a passenger provides, or communicating with a passenger through an interpreter, for example.

(3) Physical assistance. You must ensure that employees and contractors who provide physical assistance to passengers with disabilities who use wheelchairs or scooters are trained in the matters listed in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, and the following, as appropriate to the duties of each person:

(i) Hands-on training concerning safe and dignified physical assistance, including: transfers to and from personal or airport wheelchairs, aisle chairs, and aircraft seats; proper lifting techniques to safeguard passengers; how to troubleshoot common challenges in providing physical assistance; and proper use of equipment used to physically assist passengers with disabilities; and

(ii) Other training concerning the collecting and sharing of passenger information, such as Special Service Request (SSR) codes, needed to ensure safe, dignified, and prompt physical assistance, and effective communications with passengers with mobility disabilities, or their companion if direct communication with the individual with a disability is not possible.

(iii) As part of this training, the employees and contractors must be able to successfully demonstrate their knowledge on the matters listed in paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section ( e.g., competency assessments or certification exams).

(4) Handling of wheelchairs and scooters. You must ensure that employees and contractors who handle passengers’ wheelchairs or scooters are trained in the matters listed in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, and the following, as appropriate to the duties of each person:

(i) Hands-on training concerning common types of wheelchairs and scooters and their features, airport and airline equipment used to load and unload wheelchairs and scooters, and methods for safely moving and stowing wheelchairs, including lifting techniques, wheelchair disassembly, reconfiguration, and reassembly, and securement in the cargo compartment of the aircraft; and

(ii) Other training concerning the collecting and sharing of information regarding a passenger’s wheelchair or scooter, including using any airline wheelchair handling form(s) that may exist, to ensure the safe and proper handling of such assistive devices, and effective communications with passengers with mobility disabilities, or their companion if direct communication with the individual with a disability is not possible.

(iii) As part of this training, the employees and contractors must be able to successfully demonstrate their knowledge on the matters listed in paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (ii) of this section ( e.g., competency assessments or certification exams).

(5) Consulting with disability rights organizations. You must consult with organizations representing individuals with disabilities in your home country when developing your training program and your policies and procedures. When making changes to such training programs and related policies and procedures that will have a significant impact on assistance provided to individuals with disabilities, you must consult with organizations representing individuals with disabilities who would be affected by those changes. If such organizations are not available in your home country, you must consult with individuals with disabilities and/or international organizations representing individuals with disabilities.

(6) Training frequency. You must ensure that all personnel who are required to receive training receive refresher training on the matters covered by this section, as appropriate to the duties of each employee and contractor, as needed to maintain proficiency. The training program must describe how proficiency will be maintained.

(i) All personnel who provide physical assistance to passengers with disabilities must receive initial training described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section by June 17, 2026, and at least once every twelve months thereafter. All personnel who provide physical assistance to passengers with disabilities hired after June 17, 2026, must receive initial training described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section prior to assuming their duties and at least once every twelve months thereafter.

(ii) All personnel who handle passengers’ wheelchairs or scooters must receive initial training described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section by June 17, 2026, and at least once every twelve months thereafter. All personnel who handle passengers’ wheelchairs or scooters hired after June 17, 2026, must receive initial training described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section prior to assuming their duties and at least once every twelve months thereafter.

(iii) All other personnel must receive training prior to assuming their duties and at least once every three years thereafter.

(7) Contractors. You must provide, or ensure that your contractors receive, training concerning travel by passengers with disabilities. This training is required only for those contractors who interact directly with the traveling public or who handle passengers’ assistive devices, and it must be tailored to the employees’ functions. Training for contractors must meet the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) through (6) of this section.

(8) Complaint Resolution Officials (CROs). The employees you designate as CROs, for purposes of § 382.151 of this part, must receive training concerning the requirements of this part, including the training described in paragraphs (a)(3) and (4) of this section and the duties of a CRO prior to assuming their duties as a CRO and at least once every twelve months thereafter.

(b) If you are a carrier that operates only aircraft with fewer than 19 passenger seats, you must ensure that your employees and contractors who directly interact with the traveling public are trained, as appropriate to their duties, to ensure that they are familiar with the matters listed in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, as well as to ensure they are knowledgeable on how to communicate with individuals with differing disabilities, how to physically assist individuals with mobility disabilities, and how to properly handle passengers’ wheelchairs and scooters.

 

 

III

Thoughts/Takeaways

 

  1. It is a final rule and goes into effect on January 16, 2025, which is coming up. However, after Loper Bright, which we discussed here, unclear how much deference a court will give to these final rules assuming any disputes arise. I will say that Supreme Court opinions have said that the ACAA regulations completely preempt the field. So, a good possibility exists that a court would give deference to these regulations even after Loper Bright.
  2. The terms “custody,” “dignified,” “hands-on training,” “mishandled,” and “safe,” are all defined in the final regulations.
  3. Wheelchair users as well as air carriers will really want to do a deep dive into this final rule.
  4. The communication requirements of this final rule are quite a bit different than what is required by the DOJ final rules with respect to Titles II and III of the ADA. In particular, the following is particularly worth noting: a) employees and contractors who interact with the traveling public must be trained to respect and be aware of the different types of disabilities, including how to distinguish among differing abilities of individuals with disabilities. “Differing abilities,” hits me the wrong way. I find it a bit patronizing, and it is also meaningless. After all, everyone has abilities, even persons without disabilities. Instead, DOT would’ve been better off saying something along the lines of, “differences among individuals with disabilities,” rather than the phrasing it uses.
  5. Employees and contractors must be trained on appropriate ways to communicate and interact with passengers with disabilities. For example, communicating directly with the individual with a disability instead of the traveling companion/interpreter. I don’t have a problem with this particular requirement.
  6. Employees and contractors must be trained to recognize requests for effective communication accommodations from individuals who have disabilities impacting communication and to use the most common methods for communicating with these individuals that are readily available, such as writing notes or taking care to enunciate clearly, for example. Training in sign language is not required. My concern here is that the regulation is talking out of both sides of its mouth so to speak. That is, on the one hand, it says effective communication is a concern. On the other hand, it most definitely says that effective communication is not the standard. For those who are culturally deaf writing notes and enunciating clearly is not going to do the trick (in addition to being ineffective, it could be aggravating and patronizing as well), but yet that kind of communication is perfectly allowable under the final rule.
  7. Air carriers must also train employees to recognize requests for communication accommodations from deaf-blind passengers and use establish means of communicating with these passengers when they are available, such as passing out braille cards if available, reading an information sheet that a passenger provides, or communicating with the passenger through an interpreter. My thoughts on this are that it appears deaf-blind passengers may or may not have higher regulatory requirements than Deaf passengers. I can tell you from my personal experience and my review of the Air Carrier Access Act regulations, that there is actually very little air carriers have to do with respect to accommodating those in the hearing loss community when it comes to their operations.
  8. Training is now required to be at least once per year and employees have to demonstrate their knowledge on that training.
  9. Personal injury attorneys, whether they be on the plaintiff side or on the defense side, need to pay attention to the final rule definitions of “safe,” and “dignified.” As a result of the confluence of the Airline Deregulation Act, state personal injury laws, Supreme Court opinions, and the Air Carrier Access Act, the liability standards when a personal injury occurs while a person is in control of the air carrier are those contained in the ACAA final regulations (I have actually consulted on three of these kinds of cases in the past).
  10. Airlines when publishing in prominent and easily accessible places on their public websites information describing the relevant dimensions and other characteristics of the cargo holds of all aircraft types operated by the airline, should make sure that particular information is accessible to those who use screen readers and voice dictation technology.
  11. Airlines will have to definitely step up their game so to speak with respect to notifying persons who are wheelchair users just what is happening with their wheelchairs and making sure that any delays are promptly dealt with. Again, I highly recommend studying the final rule in detail if you are a wheelchair user or an air carrier as there is a lot to digest.
  12. When it comes to training, organizations representing individuals with disabilities must be consulted with. If no such organizations exist, it is permissible to consult with individuals with disabilities and/or international organizations representing individuals with disabilities.
William Goren

William D. Goren is one of the country’s foremost authorities on the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For 28 years and continuing, he has been advising on ADA compliance as both an attorney and professor—of which during…

William D. Goren is one of the country’s foremost authorities on the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For 28 years and continuing, he has been advising on ADA compliance as both an attorney and professor—of which during his time as a full-time academic at various institutions in Chicago, he won numerous teaching awards and achieved tenure.

Read more about William GorenEmail
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