What: The Airline Passengers With Disabilities Bill of Rights Protects Travelers With Disabilities
This month, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a Bill of Rights for travelers living with disabilities and choosing to travel by air. The 16-page document, which highlights 10 fundamental rights for air passengers under the Air Carrier Access Act, was released earlier this month as a way to “empower air travelers with disabilities to understand and assert their rights, and help ensure that U.S. and foreign air carriers and their contractors uphold those rights.”
Why It Matters: The Bill Represents a Huge Step Forward for the Aviation Industry
Air travel should be accessible, reliable and safe for everyone, and this community of travelers is no exception. Although the Bill of Rights is a summation of existing law (and does not introduce any new rights), it will prove to be a valuable tool and resource for travelers living with disabilities by empowering them to advocate for a more inclusive air travel experience.
Additionally, it will provide U.S. carriers (or foreign carriers flying to and from the U.S.) a much-needed a framework to follow and uphold to ensure that these consumers are treated with respect. Travel advisors working with clients who have disabilities should include this bill with a customer’s final travel documents and be well-versed with its contents in order to step in and advocate on a client’s behalf.
Fast Facts: What’s Covered Under the Bill of Rights
- The creation of this Bill of Rights was mandated under a 2018 reauthorization of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Under the Bill, an individual with a disability is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that permanently or temporarily affects life activities including walking, hearing or breathing.
- The bill is a living document; it may change or evolve as regulations change.
- The Bill of Rights consists of 10 fundamental rights for travelers:
1. The Right to Be Treated with Dignity and Respect
2. The Right to Receive Information About Services and Aircraft Capabilities and Limitations
3. The Right to Receive Information in an Accessible Format
4. The Right to Accessible Airport Facilities
5. The Right to Assistance at Airports
6. The Right to Assistance on the Aircraft
7. The Right to Travel with an Assistive Device or Service Animal
8. The Right to Receive Seating Accommodations
9. The Right to Accessible Aircraft Features
10. The Right to Resolution of a Disability-Related Issue
What They Are Saying: This Is One Step Toward an All-Inclusive Air Travel System
“Today’s announcements are the latest steps toward ensuring an air travel system that works for everyone,” said Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation for the U.S. “Whether you’re a parent expecting to sit together with your young children on a flight, a traveler with a disability navigating air travel or a consumer traveling by air for the first time in a while, you deserve safe, accessible, affordable and reliable airline service.”
