The IAPA applauds strengthening of rights for disabled travellers in the US
The International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) welcomes new steps taken by the US Department of Transportation to strengthen and extend protections against discrimination for air passengers with disabilities.
For many years people with disabilities have not had the same freedoms when it comes to flying as able-bodied people, but this new ruling means that US passengers flying abroad on foreign air carriers will now have similar protections against discriminatory policies and be entitled to the same accommodations as any other passengers flying on US airlines.
The key component of the new ruling is that US law’s access rights for disabled travellers are to be extended to foreign airlines who are operating flights entering or departing the United States and it will ultimately see a number of changes to the 21 year old law over the next 12 months.
For example, all air carriers will now be required to allow passengers with respiratory illnesses to take on-board approved portable oxygen concentrates as well as providing greater accommodations for passengers with hearing and vision impairments by requiring airlines to include easy-to-read captions in its safety and informational videos.
Additionally, airlines must provide the same information to hearing and vision impaired passengers that it offers to other passengers in airport terminals or on the aircraft, such as status updates on flight, gate and boarding announcements.
Foreign carriers will have a twelve month compliance window to fulfil the order or request DOT waivers if they conflict with foreign laws, and even though the changes won’t come into force overnight, these are important steps forward in ensuring that disabled passengers can travel with the levels of service and protection they are entitled to.