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Protections Increased for Air Travelers with Disabilities

But travelers complain existing rules are often ignored

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.Com

May 8, 2008

That's because the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has strengthened its existing regulation implementing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and extended it to foreign airlines.

Some consumers, however, say that existing rules are poorly enforced and often of little benefit to disabled travelers.

"I wrote Northwest Airlines customer services about its failure to address my needs as a disabled customer and the fact that the assigned seats for my flight from PDX to BKK, Airbus 330, in no way addressed my need to be able to partly extend my leg," Guy of Lincoln City, OR, complained to ConsumerAffairs.com.

"When I got on the flight the assigned disability seat had less legroom then the standard seat," he said. "I spent the whole flight in extreme pain, hip and both knees unable to even stand up during the flight to relieve the pressure."

DOT's existing rules provide that airlines must provide assistance with boarding, deplaning and making connections. Assistance within the cabin is also required.

But Kenneth of Los Banos, CA, complained that he was restricted to his seat when he flew Southwest Airlines from San Jose to Buffalo, NY.

"The passengers were not able to leave the aircraft at each stop unless they were arriving at their destinations, since the layover time averaged 15 minutes at each stop. In flight, we were not allowed to stand in line to use the restrooms, and since I am disabled, this made it impossible for me to use them," he said.

"I travel with a wheelchair and crutches, and for me to try to use the restroom or even move around the cabin is pure torture!" he said.

Pam of Cincinnati, who has limited mobility, had trouble boarding her US Airways flight to Philadelphia. She, like many passengers who have complained to ConsumerAffairs.com, said she alerted the airline in advance that she needed wheelchair assistance but found no help when she got to the airport.

"Other passengers get very mad at me because I am slow and unsteady" when boarding, she said. "When we got to Philly, there was no jetway. Stairs are extremely difficult for me. No one offered to assist me down the stairs or with my bags. ... There was NO wheelchair for me in Philly at the gate, and no gate agent."

Oxygen

The new rule also will make it easier for passengers to use medical oxygen during flights by requiring airlines to allow the use in the passenger cabin of portable oxygen concentrators that meet applicable safety, security and hazardous materials requirements for safe use aboard aircraft, DOT said.

DOT said it will seek further comment on whether airlines should be required to provide medical oxygen to passengers upon request. In addition, the department is studying subjects such as accessibility of airline web sites, automated ticketing kiosks, and in-flight entertainment systems.

The new rule also will provide greater accommodations for passengers with hearing impairments by requiring airlines to include easy-to-read captions for the hearing-impaired in its safety and informational videos.

Airlines must promptly provide the same information to hearing- and vision-impaired passengers that it provides to other passengers in airport terminals or on the aircraft -- such as information on boarding, flight delays, schedule changes, weather conditions at the flight’s destination, connecting gate assignments, checking and claiming of baggage, and emergencies.

The rule does not specify how carriers should make this information available to passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The new rule will be effective in one year to give carriers enough time to begin implementing its provisions, DOT said.

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