The Biden administration on Thursday proposed new rules aimed at improving the flying experience for passengers with disabilities, following years of complaints that wheelchair breakdowns during flights are commonplace.
Proposed measures include requiring airlines to promptly repair or replace damaged wheelchairs and providing comprehensive annual training to employees and contractors who work with travelers with disabilities and the equipment they use.
“We want to be clear that, like many other passenger protections required by regulation and law, proper treatment of wheelchairs and passengers who use them is fundamental and essential,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a press conference, “and there will be penalties for airlines that don’t do it.”
Increased number of damaged wheelchairs on planes, travellers want action taken
The rulemaking would also seek to make improper handling of wheelchairs and other assistive devices an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act, which would make it easier for regulators to penalize and hold airlines accountable when mobility devices are damaged or improperly handled, Buttigieg said. The proposed rulemaking would also require airlines to provide loaner wheelchairs for passengers while their devices are repaired or replaced.
“I know from personal experience that when an airline breaks or damages a wheelchair, it’s not just an inconvenience, it’s the same as breaking someone’s leg,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who discussed the rule with Buttigieg and other administration officials at the White House on Thursday. “This proposed rule is critical to ensuring that all passengers with disabilities are treated with the dignity and respect that all Americans deserve.”
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At the event, several advocacy group representatives asked questions such as how strictly the measures would be enforced, who would be involved in the required training, and when wheelchair users might be able to have their own seats on planes.
Kimberly Tissot, president and CEO of Able South Carolina, said she ran into a problem on a flight to Washington for the announcement on Thursday. Someone called her a “scooter” at the airport as she departed, she said, and an employee instructed her to walk down the boarding ramp rather than drive her scooter to the end.
“This is something we’ve been complaining about for decades,” she said. “This is significant and it’s game-changing. No one should experience this kind of discrimination in 2024.”
According to the Department of Transportation, an estimated 5.5 million Americans use wheelchairs, and many encounter obstacles when traveling by air. Since 2018, airlines have been required to report the number of mobility devices they mishandle, damage, delay, or destroy. In 2022, more than 11,000 wheelchairs, power chairs, and scooters were lost, damaged, delayed, or stolen. In 2023, these numbers are expected to grow even more, according to officials.
Theo Brady, who also attended the White House event, said he had given up flying because his wheelchair broke so often. Brady, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living, said progress on the issue had been so slow he thought it would take another generation for things to change. On Thursday, he was encouraged that change was happening.
“I never thought something like this would happen in my lifetime,” he said, “and I’m just glad I got a chance to see it.”
Kings Floyd, a research fellow at the nonpartisan think tank The Century Foundation, said in a statement that the proposed rule is an important milestone, but enforcement and dedicated resources within the Department of Transportation, as well as cooperation from airlines, will be key to ensuring the rule is followed in a way that improves air travel for wheelchair users.
“But if these provisions are not enforceable, they will have little impact on the daily lives of customers with disabilities,” added Floyd, who previously worked on disability issues at the Department of Transportation.
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rules, which are part of the administration’s efforts to improve the flying experience for everyone. Buttigieg said other steps the administration has taken include pumping billions of dollars through various programs to improve accessibility at airports, railroads and subway stations. The administration also finalized rules to ensure bathrooms on single-aisle aircraft are accessible to people with disabilities.
“The fundamental promise of transportation is the idea that everyone should be able to get where they need to go safely and freely,” Buttigieg said. “And when someone can’t travel because they decide they can’t cope, the world becomes smaller for that traveler — and for everyone else who benefits from their presence in all sorts of situations, from family gatherings to board meetings.”
The announcement was welcomed by many disability advocates who have long fought for better treatment for passengers with disabilities.
“The changes proposed by the Department of Transportation today include several important measures that will dramatically improve the air travel experience for people with disabilities,” said Heather Ansley, chief policy officer for Paralyzed Veterans of America. “Too often, veterans with spinal cord injuries or conditions, such as MS or ALS, have had their wheelchairs and other assistive devices damaged, lost or destroyed at the hands of airlines. [Others] “People have been seriously injured during the boarding and disembarking process. Enough is enough.”