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DOT
57-03
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
U.S.
Department of Transportation Moves Forward
On Improving Air Travel for Disabled Passengers;
Requires Carriers to File Disability Complaints
Beginning
next year, U.S. and foreign air carriers serving the United States will be
required to record complaints they receive regarding the treatment of passengers
with disabilities and to report these complaints annually to the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
This
new rule, published in today's Federal Register, is part of DOT's continuing
effort to work toward barrier-free travel by individuals with disabilities, U.S.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta said at a recent forum focusing on
issues faced by air travelers with disabilities.
"I
have spent my career in public life dedicated to the principle that no one
should be subjected to unfair treatment because of the population group to which
they happen to belong," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta
said in remarks at the June 24 forum in Washington.
"Ensuring that this principle is put into practice is a task that I
take seriously and I firmly believe our work is doing just that."
Secretary
Mineta's work protecting the rights of disabled persons extends back to his days
in Congress. As chairman of the
House Public Works and Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee he
played a major role in the enactment of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) in
1986. He continued his advocacy of
the disabled as co-author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, whose 13th
anniversary will be celebrated this July 26.
The
new rule will require all carriers operating aircraft with more than 60 seats to
file with DOT records of complaints they receive regarding inadequate
accessibility or discrimination on the basis of disability.
Complaints will be categorized according to the passenger's disability.
This will supplement information currently being filed by passengers
directly with DOT that is summarized monthly in the department's Air Travel
Consumer Report.
Participants
at the recent forum, which included experts from the disability community, the
airline industry, airline associations, airport service companies and
government, shared information about what works and what is needed to improve
the air travel environment for persons with disabilities.
A number of issues were discussed such as ways to better educate air
travelers with disabilities about DOT's Disability Hotline (voice:
1-800-778-4838; TTY: 1-800-455-9880), methods for improving the department's May
9, 2003 service animal guidance, and means by which passengers with disabilities
can assist in making the air travel experience smoother (e.g., providing advance
notice for wheelchair assistance even though such notice is not required).
In
addition to steps taken by individuals with disabilities and air carriers, DOT
has also taken numerous actions to remove barriers to air travel by passengers
with disabilities. Its recent accomplishments in this area, in addition to the
new rule on passenger complaints, include:
*
Establishment of a toll-free hotline for information on air travel by
individuals with disabilities and "real-time" assistance with
disability-related air travel problems.
*
Investigations of air carriers for violations of the ACAA.
Many of the investigations have focused on enplaning and deplaning
assistance by air carriers and wheelchair service between connecting flights.
These investigations resulted in consent orders with several carriers
involving civil penalties. More
importantly, they resulted in real improvements in the services airlines provide
to air travelers with disabilities.
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