US DOT firms up final ruling protecting passengers with mobility disabilities
December 18, 2024
The US Department of Transport (DoT) has released what it terms “the biggest expansion of rights for passengers with disabilities in a generation,” aiming to ensure that all commercial air transport customers can “fly safely and with dignity”.
Wheelchair users are at the forefront of the government’s “new protections,” with a finalised rule setting new standards for assistance, mandating hands-on training for airline employees and contractors, and specifying actions airlines must take if a mobility device is damaged or delayed during transport.
Building on 2022 publication of the DoT’s inaugural ‘Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights’, the new ruling also follows a landmark $50 million penalty imposed against American Airlines in October 2024 for “numerous serious violations of the laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities”. Although noting that “these problems are not unique to American Airlines, and allegations of wheelchair mishandling and inadequate wheelchair assistance are far too common,” the DOT nevertheless confirmed that the record-high fine “[set] a new precedent for how DOT will enforce against such violations going forward”.
The new rule now requires annual training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with mobility needs and their wheelchairs, due by June 2026 at the latest. Passengers requesting assistance must be provided with prompt assistance to embark and disembark an aircraft, while a new rebuttable presumption will apply in instances of alleged wheelchair mishandling.
Paralyzed Veterans of America CEO Carl Blake welcomed the ruling, thanking “every wheelchair and scooter user who courageously recounted their negative and inappropriate experiences with air travel” and concluding: “This is not only a win for the disability community… but also a testament to the power of collective advocacy”.
