96-27192. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Air Travel  

  • [Federal Register Volume 61, Number 213 (Friday, November 1, 1996)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 56481-56485]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 96-27192]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    14 CFR Part 382
    
    [Docket OST-96-1880; Notice 96-25]
    RIN 2105-AC28
    
    
    Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Air Travel
    
    AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary.
    
    ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
    
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    SUMMARY: The Department is proposing to amend its rules implementing 
    the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 concerning seating accommodations 
    for individuals with disabilities and the stowage of collapsible 
    electric wheelchairs. These proposals are the result of petitions for 
    rulemaking on which the Department previously received comment. The 
    Department is also proposing to clarify the meaning of the general 
    nondiscrimination provision in the Air Carrier Access Act rule. The 
    Department is also seeking comment on petitions requesting a smoke-free 
    path through airports for passengers with severe respiratory 
    disabilities.
    
    DATES: Comments are requested within January 30, 1997. Late-filed 
    comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent, preferably in triplicate, to Docket 
    Clerk, Docket No. OST-96-1880, Department of Transportation, 400 7th 
    Street, S.W., Room PL-401, Washington, D.C., 20590. We request that, to 
    facilitate scanning comments into the Department's electronic docket 
    system, commenters put comments on 8\1/2\ by 11 inch white paper using 
    dark ink, without tabs and unbound. Comments will be available for 
    inspection at this address from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through 
    Friday. Commenters who wish the receipt of their comments to be 
    acknowledged should include a stamped, self-addressed postcard with 
    their comments. The Docket Clerk will date-stamp the postcard and mail 
    it back to the commenter.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and 
    Enforcement, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, S.W., Room 
    10424, Washington, D.C., 20590. (202) 366-9306 (voice); (202) 755-7687 
    (TDD); or Nancy Ebersole, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
    Transportation Policy, same street address, Room 9217, (202) 366-4864.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
        In its September 1993 notice of proposed rulemaking on the Air 
    Carrier Access Act (ACAA) rules (58 FR 47681; September 9, 1993), the 
    Department asked for comment on three petitions for rulemaking. These 
    concerned use of oxygen by airline passengers, seating accommodations 
    for passengers with disabilities, and the stowage of collapsible 
    electric wheelchairs. The Department is considering addressing the 
    first of these issues through a negotiated rulemaking. The Department 
    has decided to grant the other two petitions, by issuing this NPRM 
    proposing amendments to the ACAA rule. The public will have the 
    opportunity to comment on these proposals before the Department takes 
    any final action on them. In addition, having become aware of 
    misunderstanding on the part of some parties concerning the scope and 
    nature of the general nondiscrimination obligation under the ACAA, the 
    Department is proposing a clarification of Part 382's statement of that 
    obligation.
    
    General Nondiscrimination Obligation
    
        The history of the ACAA clearly shows that Congress enacted the 
    statute to fill a gap in nondiscrimination coverage left by a Supreme 
    Court decision that said that section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act did 
    not apply to air carriers, since they do not (with the exception of 
    participants in the Essential Air Service program) receive Federal 
    financial assistance. The intent of the statute was to achieve the same 
    protection from discrimination for airline passengers that section 504 
    provides persons affected by Federally-assisted programs. For a summary 
    of the history of the Act, see the preamble to the Department's 1990 
    final ACAA rule (55 FR 8009; March 6, 1990).
        When Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it 
    excluded transportation by aircraft from the definition of ``specified 
    public transportation.'' Congress did so specifically because air 
    transportation was covered by the ACAA. (See H. Rept. 101-485, Pt. 1; 
    May 14, 1990; p. 36.) There is no evidence that Congress intended this 
    exclusion, which simply avoids duplication in coverage, to suggest that 
    a weaker standard of nondiscrimination applies to air carriers than to 
    transportation providers covered by the ADA.
        Under section 504 and the ADA, providers of transportation and 
    other facilities and services to the public have the obligation to take 
    steps to accommodate customers who have disabilities, though these 
    obligations have limits. For example, places of public accommodation 
    under Title III of the ADA are required to make
    
    reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when 
    the modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, 
    facilities, privileges, or accommodations to individuals with 
    disabilities, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that 
    making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the 
    goods, services, facilities, privileges, or accommodations. (28 CFR 
    Sec. 36.302.(a))
    
    Under the ADA, public accommodations must remove barriers where doing 
    so is ``readily achievable i.e., easily accomplishable and able to be 
    carried out without much difficulty or expense'' (28 CFR 
    Sec. 36.304(a)). One option open to a public accommodation is making 
    its services available through readily achievable alternative means 
    where barrier removal itself is not
    
    [[Page 56482]]
    
    readily achievable (28 CFR Sec. 36.305(a)). These provisions are 
    intended to be compatible with the section 504 standards, which 
    requires recipients of Federal funds to make accommodations to the 
    needs of individuals with disabilities, as long as doing so does not 
    create undue financial or administrative burdens.
        The Department has become aware that there may be some 
    misunderstanding concerning the applicability of these basic 
    nondiscrimination principles to air carriers. To avoid such 
    misunderstanding, the Department is proposing to add language to the 
    nondiscrimination section of Part 382 reciting explicitly the existing 
    legal requirement that carriers have the duty of accommodating 
    disabilities of passengers, consistent with these principles, even 
    where a specific accommodation is not mandated elsewhere in the 
    regulation.
    
    Seating Assignments to Accommodate Passengers' Disabilities
    
    Background
    
        Section 382.37 of the existing rule, concerning seating 
    assignments, prohibits carriers from excluding a person from a 
    particular seat location or requiring a person to sit in a particular 
    location, on the basis of disability, with certain exceptions (e.g., to 
    comply with the FAA's exit row seating rule). The intent of this 
    provision was to preclude carriers from limiting a passenger's choice 
    of seats on the basis of disability. The issue in this rulemaking is 
    the other side of this coin: should carriers be required to provide a 
    particular seat assignment that a passenger needs to accommodate a 
    disability?
        The petitioner, a consumer, has a disability that prevents her from 
    bending one of her legs. She requested that the ACAA rule be modified 
    to require airlines to seat a passenger in a location requested by the 
    passenger (e.g., a bulkhead seat) when sitting in that location is 
    necessary to reasonably accommodate the passenger's disability, even if 
    this requires changing the seat assignment of another passenger. In 
    addition to asking for comment on this petition, the 1993 NPRM also 
    requested comment on whether, if such a requirement were added to the 
    rule, carriers should be permitted to require advance notice for this 
    accommodation.
    
    Comments
    
        There was strong support for this petition from consumers. About 50 
    comments from passengers and disability groups said that airlines 
    should accommodate passengers with disabilities by placing them in a 
    seat that facilitates their travel. Examples cited in the comments 
    included ensuring that passengers with mobility impairments had the 
    opportunity to sit in a a row with a movable aisle armrest, that people 
    with fused legs could sit in bulkhead seats, that personal care 
    attendants could sit next to passengers whom they serve, and that 
    people with guide dogs could choose either a bulkhead or non-bulkhead 
    seat.
        One commenter suggested that, if an appropriate seat in coach was 
    not available, the airline should offer a first-class upgrade if it 
    would facilitate the passenger's travel and there was a seat available 
    in first class. A few commenters suggested that it would be acceptable 
    for an airline to require passengers requesting a seating accommodation 
    to provide documentation of their need (e.g., a note from their 
    doctor). Four disability community commenters opposed permitting 
    airlines to request advance notice for providing seating 
    accommodations. Three commenters suggested that seating accommodations 
    be made for tall people, since they have trouble being comfortable in 
    many airline seats, and one suggested similar treatment for parents 
    traveling with infants.
        Carriers and their associations generally opposed the petition. 
    They had several objections. First, it would be difficult to determine 
    which people deserved priority for seating accommodations. For example, 
    if multiple persons arrived for a flight and asked for a bulkhead seat, 
    how would carrier personnel decide who should be selected to receive 
    the desired seat? Airline personnel should not have to decide who is 
    the most deserving passenger. Second, it would be unfair and annoying 
    to other passengers who were asked to move to make room for the 
    disabled passengers. Passengers typically reserve flights on a first-
    come/first-serve basis, and often seek aisle or bulkhead seats because 
    there is more space there, because they are tall, because they have 
    infants to care for, etc. They do not want to be bumped from the seat 
    assignment they had called in advance to obtain. Third, having to deal 
    with seat reassignments would distract flight attendants and other 
    personnel from other pre-flight duties, including those related to 
    safety.
        One commenter pointed out that, like other passengers, people with 
    disabilities could call early for a seat assignment in order to get the 
    accommodation they wanted. This commenter suggested that carriers 
    should not have to do more than hold back one or two seats from advance 
    assignment, and then only until 24 hours before departure. Another 
    commenter suggested that, rather than mandating seating accommodations, 
    airlines should ask for volunteers to move from seats, perhaps 
    providing incentives like extra frequent-flier miles. One commenter 
    thought disabled passengers present a risk because they clog the 
    aisles. The commenter believes that such passengers should be kept out 
    of aisle seats and deplaned last. Another said that passengers who want 
    extra room should pay for it or find another mode of transportation. 
    Three commenters thought that passengers desiring seating 
    accommodations should have to provide advance notice, to minimize last-
    minute seat changes for other passengers.
    
    DOT Response
    
        As noted above, carriers have an obligation to accommodate the 
    disabilities of passengers, through means such as altering policies and 
    practices, as long as doing so does not create an undue financial or 
    administrative burden or fundamentally alter the nature of the service 
    provided. After reviewing the comments on this petition, the Department 
    believes that responding to requests for seat assignments to 
    accommodate the needs of an individual with a disability comes well 
    within the scope of this obligation.
        Many people with disabilities--particularly those with mobility 
    impairments--find it very difficult to travel by air in the absence of 
    seat assignments that facilitate their use of the aircraft. Having to 
    transfer over a fixed aisle armrest, when moveable armrests are 
    available elsewhere in the cabin, burdens wheelchair users. Sitting in 
    a middle non-bulkhead seat may make it unfeasible for someone with a 
    fused leg to travel. Sitting apart from a personal care attendant may 
    make it impossible for a person with severe mobility impairment to eat 
    or to receive other needed assistance during the flight. Seating 
    accommodations that permit an individual who travels with a service 
    animal to sit with the animal may also be necessary.
        The proposal would apply only to requests in these four categories. 
    The Department does not believe it would be relevant to apply the 
    provision to persons with other disabilities (e.g., vision or hearing 
    impairments, less severe mobility impairments). However, we seek 
    comments on whether there are additional situations in which seating 
    accommodations should be provided. In addition, we seek comment on 
    whether
    
    [[Page 56483]]
    
    it is necessary or appropriate for persons seeking these seating 
    accommodations to provide any documentation to the carrier.
        To accommodate these needs of individuals with disabilities would 
    not appear to impose significant financial or administrative burdens on 
    carriers, or fundamentally alter the nature of the service they provide 
    to passengers. What appears to be needed is a limited modification of 
    existing administrative policies. There could be some inconvenience to 
    other passengers, but when a carrier is implementing a 
    nondiscrimination statute like the ACAA, accommodating the needs of 
    passengers with disabilities outweighs this inconvenience.
        Under the proposal, a passenger seeking seating accommodations 
    would call the airline at least 48 hours before the scheduled departure 
    of the flight (see discussion of advance notice below). If the airline 
    had any seats that would provide the accommodation that had not yet 
    been assigned to another passenger, it would assign such a seat to the 
    requester. This includes situations in which there are unassigned seats 
    that have not been made available for assignment to the general 
    passenger population (e.g., seats that are not assigned until a short 
    time before the flight or that are held for frequent fliers). If, 
    however, all seats in which the needed accommodation could be provided 
    to the requester have been assigned to other passengers, the airline 
    would change the seat assignment of another passenger. In no case, 
    however, would another passenger be bumped off the flight to 
    accommodate the seating requests of an individual with a disability.
        Part 382 already contains a number of accommodations for disabled 
    passengers for which carriers may request advance notification (see 14 
    CFR Sec. 382.33(b)). The purpose of this provision is to give carriers 
    time to prepare to provide the accommodations. While the Department is 
    aware that consumers with disabilities have opposed provisions of this 
    kind, we believe that they strike a fair balance between the needs of 
    passengers to receive accommodations and the needs of carriers to do 
    the work of providing them. Therefore, in addition to requiring seating 
    accommodations, we propose to add a 48 hours' advance notice provision.
        We would point out that, for all accommodations to which the 
    advance notice provisions apply, a carrier is required to provide the 
    accommodation even when the passenger does not provide advance notice, 
    if the carrier can do so by making a reasonable effort that will not 
    delay the flight (see 14 CFR Sec. 382.33(c)). In the case of seating 
    accommodations, this should prove possible to do in most instances, 
    since all that may be involved is a quick request by carrier personnel 
    to another passenger to switch seats to accommodate the situation of a 
    disabled passenger. While, in a case where advance notice had not been 
    provided, the airline would not be mandated to change another 
    passenger's seating assignment, the carrier would be obligated to make 
    the request, and could, as comments suggested, provide incentives to 
    persons who agreed to a seat assignment change.
        The Department does not believe that implementing this proposed 
    requirement would place carriers in the position of determining who was 
    the most deserving occupant of a given seat. Airlines could, under the 
    proposal, operate in a ``first-come/first-served'' manner. That is, if 
    a passenger with a disability for which sitting in a bulkhead seat 
    would be an accommodation (e.g., an individual with a fused leg, a 
    passenger traveling with a service dog) makes a request to sit in that 
    seat, another passenger subsequently requesting that seat as an 
    accommodation to a disability could be told that the seat was 
    unavailable. The airline would find a different seat to accommodate the 
    second passenger to the extent feasible.
        A few things that this NPRM does not propose to require in this 
    provision should be noted. The proposal would not require airlines that 
    do not pre-assign seats to passengers to begin doing so. These airlines 
    allow passengers needing various kinds of accommodations to preboard. 
    Permitting passengers who need particular kinds of seating 
    accommodations to preboard would satisfy the intent of this provision. 
    It might be necessary, however, for the carrier to request or direct 
    that some preboarded passengers move to accommodate a passenger with a 
    disability who needed a particular seat location as an accommodation. 
    The Department seeks comment on whether any specific regulatory 
    provisions are needed to handle this situation.
        Nor would this proposal require the airline to provide upgrades to 
    first class for coach passengers or provide more than one seat to an 
    individual. In this context, we note that the Department has received 
    occasional inquiries concerning passengers who are very obese. It may 
    be necessary for some such passengers to occupy the space of two seats. 
    The Department has been asked whether it is consistent with the ACAA 
    for carriers to charge for two seats in this situation. We have replied 
    that, if an individual is actually using two seats, it is not 
    discriminatory for the airline to charge the individual for two seats. 
    The Department seeks comments on whether this approach should be 
    changed. Should there be circumstances in which such a passenger should 
    be accommodated without being charged for more than one seat?
    
    Handling of Collapsible Electric Wheelchairs
    
    Background
    
        The Department received a petition from Mr. Ralph Black, an 
    attorney representing a consumer who uses a collapsible electric 
    wheelchair, powered by a non-spillable battery. The consumer has 
    encountered difficulty with airlines that, in her view, treat the 
    wheelchair as it were a non-collapsible wheelchair powered by a 
    spillable battery. The petition set forth a rationale for changing the 
    ACAA rule and suggested revisions to the rule's language.
    
    Comments
    
        Disability commenters generally supported this petition. A few 
    expressed the concern that airlines may damage wheelchairs, either by 
    dropping them when being located into the luggage compartment or when 
    disassembling or reassembling them. (Two carriers suggested, in 
    response to this latter problem, that wheelchair manufacturers or 
    passengers be required to provide written instructions for disassembly 
    and reassembly.)
        Air carrier comments focused on the battery-related portions of the 
    petition. They reiterated a long-standing industry concern that 
    passengers are not reliable sources of information about whether a 
    battery is spillable or non-spillable. Reliance on passenger-
    representations, they said, could lead to safety problems. Some carrier 
    comments suggested that FAA certify or label which batteries are non-
    spillable or that carriers be able to rely on their own list of 
    approved non-spillable batteries.
    
    DOT Response
    
        The Department has decided to partially grant this petition for 
    rulemaking. We believe it is useful to clarify that collapsible 
    electric wheelchairs, like folding manual wheelchairs, can be carried 
    in the cabin if they can be transported in appropriate storage 
    locations, such as in closets or overhead compartments, or under seats. 
    Indeed, commenters appeared to have
    
    [[Page 56484]]
    
    no objections to this idea. The Department has interpreted its existing 
    rule consistent with this idea. Consequently, we are proposing to adopt 
    the petitioner's proposed amendment to Sec. 382.41(g)(2), as well as 
    adding clarifications to Sec. 382.41(e) concerning in-cabin storage.
        However, the issue of distinguishing spillable from non-spillable 
    batteries continues to be complex, and it continues to be discussed 
    among the Department and representatives of the industry and disability 
    community. We believe that is premature to propose further rulemaking 
    on the subject of handling batteries at this time. We also believe that 
    the existing, permissive provision concerning written instructions for 
    disassembly and reassembly is adequate. We do not see in the comments 
    an adequate basis for making the provision of such instructions 
    mandatory.
    
    Additional Provisions for Passengers With Hearing Impairments
    
        The Department has received some suggestions for additional 
    rulemaking concerning accommodations for persons with hearing 
    impairments. These include captioning of video material (e.g., movies 
    and other entertainment features) shown on the aircraft, and making 
    telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) available where air 
    phone service is provided to other passengers. Part 382 requires 
    captioning of safety videos, but not other videos shown on flights. 
    Another suggestion was for providing assistive listening technology for 
    public address announcements in the aircraft. The Department has also 
    received suggestions for electronic message and/or assistive listening 
    technology in gate areas, to ensure that hearing-impaired passengers 
    would receive information about flight departures and arrivals, 
    boarding announcements, etc. The Department seeks comment on the need 
    for such accommodations, as well as their technical feasibility and 
    cost.
    
    Petitions Concerning an Accessible Path Through Airports for 
    Persons With Severe Respiratory Disabilities
    
        The Department is seeking comment on petitions from individuals 
    with respiratory disabilities for a requirement for an accessible path 
    through airports. Petitions on this subject have been received from Dr. 
    Dwain Eckberg, a physician and medical school faculty member from 
    Richmond, Virginia, and Dr. Judith Plotkin, a Maryland resident. Both 
    individuals suggested that the Department add regulatory provisions to 
    protect such individuals from exposure to tobacco smoke.
        The petitions make the point that some individuals have respiratory 
    conditions that can create significant health problems for them if they 
    are exposed to tobacco smoke. If such an individual must, in order to 
    get from the entrance of an airport to an aircraft, pass through areas 
    in which he or she is exposed to smoke, he or she may suffer these 
    health problems, require oxygen that is not immediately available, or 
    require emergency medical treatment. Exposure to smoke, then, acts as a 
    significant barrier for such individuals to the use of the air travel 
    system.
        If granted, these petitions would lead to a proposal that carriers 
    and airports carrier ensure that an individual with a severe 
    respiratory disability that is triggered by exposure to tobacco smoke 
    have available a path of access from the terminal entrance to the 
    aircraft free from exposure to tobacco smoke. As with other airport 
    terminal accessibility issues, amendments to both the ACAA and section 
    504 rules would be needed as part of such a proposal. The air carrier 
    and airport would be expected to work together to meet an obligation to 
    provide such passengers with a means of getting to an aircraft that 
    does not expose them to significant adverse health effects.
        We anticipate that any proposal resulting from this petition would 
    not specify or limit the means to be used. A smoke-free path through 
    the airport, transportation from the gate to the tarmac that does not 
    go through a terminal in which smoke is present, an enclosed cart that 
    took the passenger through the airport without exposure to smoke that 
    was present, etc. might all be possibilities.
        The Department would not intend, if it granted these petitions, to 
    propose to ban all smoking in terminals. Regulating smoking in public 
    places is traditionally a state or local matter, and the Department 
    would not attempt to pre-empt state or local decisionmaking.
        The Department seeks comment on whether we should propose a 
    provision of the kind requested by the petitioners. We seek comments on 
    the extent to which such a provision is needed and on cost and 
    feasibility considerations that should be taken into account.
        The Department is also aware of people with environmental 
    sensitivities to a wide variety of common substances (e.g., cleaning 
    agents, perfumes). In some cases, these sensitivities may be severe. In 
    addition to seeking comment on whether to proceed with a proposal based 
    on the petitions, the Department seeks comment on whether it would be 
    desirable and feasible to have similar provisions for people with 
    severe environmental sensitivities.
    
    Regulatory Analyses and Notices
    
        This NPRM does not propose a significant rule under Executive Order 
    12866 or a significant rule under the Department's Regulatory Policies 
    and Procedures. The Department certifies that this rule, if adopted, 
    would not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of 
    small entities. The basis for this statement is that the modifications 
    to airline practices and procedures involved if the rules are made 
    final would involve little additional cost to carriers or airports.
        The Department has determined that there would not be sufficient 
    Federalism impacts to warrant the preparation of a Federalism 
    Assessment. As it implements a nondiscrimination statute, this rule is 
    not subject to scrutiny under the Unfunded Mandates Act.
    
    List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 382
    
        Aviation, Handicapped.
    
        Issued this 8th Day of October, 1996, at Washington, D.C.
    Federico Pena,
    Secretary of Transportation.
    
        For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department proposes 
    to amend 14 CFR Part 382 as follows:
        1. The authority citation for 14 CFR Part 382 would continue to 
    read as follows:
    
        Authority: 49 U.S.C. 41702, 47105, and 41712.
    
        2. In Sec. 382.7, a new paragraph (c) would be added to read as 
    follows:
    
    
    Sec. 382.7  General prohibition of discrimination.
    
    * * * * *
        (c) In carrying out their nondiscrimination obligations under this 
    part, carriers shall, in addition to meeting the specific requirements 
    of this part, provide accommodations to passengers with disabilities 
    and remove barriers to the use of facilities and aircraft by such 
    passengers. In meeting this obligation, carriers shall apply the 
    standards of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, as amended, 
    and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
        3. In Sec. 382.33(b), the ``and'' at the end of paragraph (b)(7) is 
    proposed to be removed, a semicolon and the word ``and'' are proposed 
    to be substituted for the period at the end of paragraph (b)(8), and a 
    new paragraph (b)(9) is proposed to be added, to read as follows:
    
    [[Page 56485]]
    
    Sec. 382.33   Advance notice requirements.
    
    * * * * *
        (b) * * *
        (9) Designation of a particular seat as an accommodation to a 
    passenger's disability.
    * * * * *
        4. In Sec. 382.37, a new paragraph (d) is proposed to be added to 
    read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 382.37   Seat assignments.
    
    * * * * *
        (d) On request of a passenger with a disability designated in 
    paragraph (d)(1) of this section for a particular seat assignment 
    needed to accommodate the disability, the carrier shall provide the 
    seat assignment to the passenger.
        (1) Requests for seating accommodations required to be accommodated 
    under this paragraph include a request by a wheelchair user for a seat 
    in a row with a moveable armrest, a request by a person traveling with 
    a personal care attendant whose services will be needed on the flight 
    to sit next to the personal care attendant, a request by an individual 
    traveling with a service animal for a bulkhead or non-bulkhead seat, or 
    a request by an individual with a fused or immobile leg for a bulkhead 
    seat or other seat that provides greater legroom than other seats.
        (2) In responding to requests from passengers for seat assignments 
    to accommodate a disability, carriers shall comply with FAA safety 
    rules, including those pertaining to exit row seating (see 14 CFR 
    121.585 and 14 CFR 135.129).
        (3) When a person makes a request for a seating accommodation 
    covered by paragraph (d)(1) of this section, the carrier shall assign 
    the person a seat providing the requested accommodation if it has not 
    already been assigned, even if the seat is not available for assignment 
    to other passengers at the time.
        (4) When a person makes a request for a seating accommodation 
    covered by paragraph (d)(1) of this section, and all seats providing 
    the requested accommodation have already been assigned to other 
    passengers, the carrier shall change the seat assignment of other 
    passengers as needed to provide the accommodation.
        (5) The carrier is not required to provide the accommodations in 
    paragraphs (d) (4) and (5) in response to a request made less than 48 
    hours before the scheduled departure time of the flight.
        (6) If an individual making the request does not make it 48 hours 
    before the scheduled departure time of the flight, the carrier shall 
    attempt to meet the request by asking other passengers to move to a 
    different seat location to accommodate the individual. No other 
    passenger shall be required to change assigned seats, however.
        (7) If the carrier has already assigned a seat to an individual 
    with a disability in response to a request covered by this paragraph, 
    the carrier shall not reassign that individual to another seat in 
    response to a subsequent request from another individual with a 
    disability without the first individual's consent.
        (8) In no case shall any passenger be removed from a flight or 
    denied transportation in order to accommodate an individual with a 
    disability under this paragraph.
        5. In Sec. 382.41, paragraphs (e)(2) and (g)(2) are proposed to be 
    revised to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 382.41  Stowage of personal equipment.
    
    * * * * *
        (e) * * *
        (2) In an aircraft in which a closet or other approved stowage area 
    is provided in the cabin for passengers' carry-on items, of a size that 
    will accommodate a folding, collapsible, or break-down wheelchair, the 
    carrier shall designate priority stowage space, as described in 
    paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section for at least one such wheelchair 
    in that area.
        (ii) An individual with a disability who takes advantage of a 
    carrier offer of the opportunity to preboard the aircraft may stow his 
    or her wheelchair in this area, with priority over the carry-on items 
    brought onto the aircraft by other passengers enplaning at the same 
    airport. An individual with a disability who does not take advantage of 
    a carrier offer of the opportunity to preboard may use the area to stow 
    his or her wheelchair on a first-come, first-served basis along with 
    all other passengers seeking to stow carry-on items in the area.
        (g) * * *
        (2) Whenever feasible, the carrier shall transport electric-powered 
    wheelchairs secured in an upright position, so that batteries need not 
    be separated from the wheelchair in order to comply with DOT hazardous 
    materials rules. However, when an electric-powered wheelchair is 
    designated to fold or collapse, the passenger may request that the 
    batteries be removed and the wheelchair be folded. The carrier shall, 
    in any case, take those actions (and only those actions) required by 
    DOT hazardous materials regulations with respect to the transportation 
    of batteries by air.
    * * * * *
    [FR Doc. 96-27192 Filed 10-31-96; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-62-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
11/01/1996
Department:
Transportation Department
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
Document Number:
96-27192
Dates:
Comments are requested within January 30, 1997. Late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
Pages:
56481-56485 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket OST-96-1880, Notice 96-25
RINs:
2105-AC28: Air Carrier Access Act: Miscellaneous Amendments
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2105-AC28/air-carrier-access-act-miscellaneous-amendments
PDF File:
96-27192.pdf
CFR: (6)
14 CFR 36.302.(a))
14 CFR 36.304(a))
14 CFR 382.7
14 CFR 382.33
14 CFR 382.37
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