Although many of us may not be aware of it, the rights of air travelers with disabilities are protected, not primarily under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, but instead through the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of 1986.

In 2008, DOT issued a new set of regulations for the ACAA. In addition to updating Part 382 and making it easier to understand, DOT extends coverage to foreign commercial carriers and has made substantive changes to accommodations for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and for those who use oxygen and other respiratory assistive devices. To allow foreign air carriers time to resolve conflicts between Part 382 and their own laws and regulations, the new rule becomes effective on May 13, 2009.

In releasing the revised rule, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters noted that it “expands the protections people with disabilities will enjoy while traveling by air.” Here are some of the rule’s new provisions:

Hearing and Vision Impairment
• Airport televisions and audiovisual displays capable of displaying captions must have captions enabled at all times. Any new or replacement TVs or displays must have high-contrast captioning capability.

• Air carriers must ensure that passengers with disabilities who identify themselves as needing vision or hearing assistance have prompt access to the same information provided to other passengers at the gate, ticketing area and customer service desk, as well as on the aircraft. The rule does not spell out how the information must be provided.

• Persons who have both severe hearing and vision impairments must provide 48-hour advance notice and check-in one hour early to ensure that their communication needs can be met in terms of the safety briefing and any emergency situation.

Website Access
• Airlines whose websites are not accessible to passengers with disabilities must allow them to take advantage of web-only fares and waive any fees when they book by phone or other method.

Automated Kiosks
• If passengers with disabilities cannot readily use automated kiosks to check in or print a boarding pass, air carriers must provide assistance at the kiosk or allow the passenger to come to the front of the line at the check-in counter.

Oxygen and Other Respiratory Devices
• Airlines are required to allow passengers to use personal oxygen concentrators (POC's) and other respiratory devices so long as they have been tested and labeled by their manufacturers as meeting the applicable Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) requirements.

• Advance notice and check-in is required of passengers with electronic respiratory assistive devices to allow airlines to ensure the device is safe to use on board, batteries are properly packaged and there is an adequate supply of batteries, i.e., enough to last 150 percent of the maximum expected flight duration.

Service Animals
• Air carriers must provide animal relief areas for service animals that accompany passengers departing, connecting or arriving at any airport on their flights.

• For flights of 8 hours or longer, passengers with service animals are subject to advance notice and check-in and may be required to provide documentation that their animal can fly without creating sanitation problems.

• Passengers flying with emotional support or psychiatric service animals must not only provide advance notice and check-in, but also provide a current letter from a licensed mental health professional.

• Foreign carriers are not required to carry service animals other than dogs.

Boarding, Deplaning and Connecting Assistance
• General preboarding announcements are not required. However, carriers must on request allow persons with disabilities to preboard.

• On request, carriers must assist passengers with disabilities in moving from the terminal entrance or adjacent vehicle drop off point through the airport to the departure gate, between connecting gates, and from the arrival gate to the terminal entrance or vehicle pickup point. This includes assistance in accessing key functional areas such as ticket counter and baggage claim, as well as animal relief areas. Carriers must also allow a brief stop en route at a restroom or to purchase a food item.

•  Carriers must assist passengers with transporting their gate-checked or carry-on luggage if the passenger cannot do so because of their disability.

Moveable Arm Rests
•  For aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats, moveable aisle arm rests must be provided proportionately in all classes of service, no longer just coach. Existing aircraft, however, do not have to be retrofitted until newly manufactured seats are installed.

Priority Cabin Stowage for Wheelchairs
• Only manual wheelchairs may now be stowed in the priority stowage space required on planes with 100 or more passenger seats. Power chairs are no longer permitted.

Foreign carriers
• For foreign carriers, the rule applies only on flights that begin or under at a U.S. airport and to aircraft used for those flights. “Flight” is defined as a continuous journey in the same aircraft or with one flight number.

• Foreign carriers are not subject to the requirements of the rule with respect to operations between two foreign points, even where these flights involve code-sharing with U.S. carriers. Instead the U.S. carrier is responsible for ensuring compliance with the service provisions of the rule for those passengers flying under its code.

A copy of the new ACAA regulations, as well as the version currently in effect, is available online.

See Related Articles
For more information about traveling by air with a disability, see Accessible Travel by Plane Tips.

See Ground Transportation so You Can Get Around Once You Get There for information on accessible transportation in your destination of choice.