Air Travel by Persons Who Use Wheelchairs; Notice of Public Meeting, 14616-14617 [2022-05422]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14616-14617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05422]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2022-0014]


Air Travel by Persons Who Use Wheelchairs; Notice of Public 
Meeting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation 
(DOT).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting of the U.S. Department 
of Transportation (Department or DOT), to be held virtually, on the 
difficulties encountered during air travel by persons who use 
wheelchairs.

DATES: The virtual meeting will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2022, 
from 10:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. The meeting is 
open to the public, subject to any technical and/or capacity 
limitations. Requests to attend the meeting must be submitted to 
https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_cWNvnWKRQ26J4X0sbJClrw. 
We encourage interested parties to register by Monday, March 21, 2022. 
Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) and sign language 
interpretation will be provided during the meeting. Requests for 
additional accommodations because of a disability must be received at 
[email protected] by March 21, 2022. If you wish to speak 
during the meeting or have written materials you submit discussed 
during the meeting, you should submit a request at 
[email protected] no later than March 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The virtual meeting will be open to the public and held via 
the Zoom Webinar Platform. Virtual attendance information will be 
provided upon registration. A detailed agenda will be available on the 
Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection website at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news and placed in the docket 
in advance of the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register and attend this virtual 
meeting, please contact the Department at: https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_cWNvnWKRQ26J4X0sbJClrw. Attendance is open to the 
public subject to any technical and/or capacity limitations. For 
further information, please contact Chris Miller, Attorney-Advisor, by 
phone at 202-366-4781, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Air travelers with disabilities who use wheelchairs often face 
serious problems when traveling that could impact their safety, 
including mishandled wheelchairs and scooters and improper transfers to 
and from aircraft seats. Since December 2018, the largest U.S. airlines 
have collectively mishandled more than one in every one-hundred 
wheelchairs they transported.\1\ Damaged, delayed and lost wheelchairs 
affect the mobility, independence, quality of life and, at times, 
health of people with disabilities. The Department is committed to 
improving the accessibility of air transportation for people with 
disabilities and is actively seeking information from the public to 
determine what appropriate steps can be taken to improve accessibility 
for wheelchair users.
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    \1\ Pursuant to 14 CFR part 234, U.S. airlines classified as 
``reporting carriers'' are required to report to the Department 
monthly data on the number of wheelchairs and scooters they 
transport in the aircraft cargo compartment and the number of 
wheelchairs and scooters that are mishandled (i.e., damaged, 
delayed, lost, or pilfered). This reporting requirement has applied 
to reporting carriers for their operations on and after December 4, 
2018. In addition, reporting carriers have been required to report 
for the operations of their branded codeshare partners on and after 
January 1, 2019. Mishandled wheelchair and scooter data are 
published monthly in the Department's Air Travel Consumer Report 
(ATCR) along with information on the number of disability-related 
complaints that aviation consumers file with the Department against 
airlines. The ATCRs are available on the Department's aviation 
consumer protection website at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/air-travel-consumer-reports.
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    Disability rights advocates have raised concerns with the 
Department about unsafe transfers to and from aircraft seats. These 
transfers are the most physically intensive type of assistance provided 
by airline personnel and contractors. The Department does not have data 
on the number of transfers or the number of passengers with 
disabilities injured during the transfer process. While complaints to 
the Department alleging assistance that jeopardizes the safety of 
passengers with disabilities are not as common as other types of 
wheelchair assistance-related complaints, these types of incidents can 
cause serious harm to passengers. Successful assistance is often 
dependent on sufficiently trained personnel with adequate strength, 
skill, knowledge, and available equipment.
    Disability rights advocates have also expressed increased 
dissatisfaction with the level of accessibility during air travel for 
wheelchair users. On December 16, 2021, during a joint DOT and U.S. 
Access Board meeting about access to lavatories for on-board 
wheelchairs on single aisle aircraft, we announced that the Department 
would host a public meeting on the difficulties facing people who use 
wheelchairs during air travel. This public meeting will be an important 
step to tackle these challenges.
    During this meeting, there will be an opportunity to listen to and 
learn from people who use wheelchairs on the difficulties that they 
encounter during air travel. There will also be an opportunity for 
airlines to discuss both the actions they are taking to provide 
accessible air transportation and the challenges they face in making 
these improvements. The Department will also request and gather 
relevant information from the public attendees on four different topics 
(listed below). The information gathered during the meeting will enable 
the Department to move more expeditiously on actions to advance safe 
accommodations for air travelers with disabilities using

[[Page 14617]]

wheelchairs. We specifically invite people with disabilities, 
disability advocates, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, wheelchair 
manufacturers, flight attendant associations, and other stakeholders to 
participate in the public meeting.

II. Announcement of Public Meeting

    The March 24, 2022 meeting will be divided into a morning session 
and an afternoon session. In the morning, beginning at 10:15 a.m. EST, 
opening remarks and presentations on relevant regulations and the 
current state of affairs will be provided by the Department, advocates 
for people with disabilities, industry stakeholders, and the Air 
Carrier Access Act (ACAA) Advisory Committee. In the afternoon, there 
will be a question and answer session to help inform appropriate next 
steps for addressing the concerns of wheelchair users. The Department 
seeks information on the following:

Questions Relating to Challenges Encountered During Air Travel by 
Persons Who Use Wheelchairs and the Impacts of Unsafe or Inadequate 
Assistance

     What are the most significant problems that people with 
disabilities are currently experiencing when traveling by air with 
wheelchairs?
     How frequently do people with disabilities who use 
wheelchairs experience problems when traveling by air and what is the 
severity of physical harm or damages that can result?
     How do these problems affect the ability or willingness of 
people with disabilities to travel by air?
     What are the root causes of the problems associated with 
traveling by air with wheelchairs?
     What are the wait times for assistance to deplane/
disembark aircraft for people who use wheelchairs?
     What changes to air travel are needed to address the 
problems encountered by people with disabilities who use wheelchairs?

Questions Relating to Actions To Prevent or Minimize Likelihood of 
Mishandled (Damaged, Delayed, and Lost) Wheelchairs

     At what point(s) during the handling process are 
wheelchairs damaged and what are the most common types of damage?
     What financial costs (medical, transportation, lost wages, 
etc.), if any, do people who use wheelchairs incur due to damage to 
their wheelchair during air travel?
     What best practices or procedures (e.g., disassembly or 
loading techniques) could be implemented by airlines to reduce the risk 
of damaging a wheelchair?
     What additional information from passengers and device 
manufacturers would be useful to airlines to aid their employees who 
handle assistive devices?
     In circumstances where the passenger has not requested the 
return of the wheelchair at the baggage claim area, what are the wait 
times for wheelchairs to be returned to passengers at the gate?
     What are the root causes of wheelchairs becoming delayed 
or lost during air transportation?
     What improvements can be made to airline procedures to 
prevent or minimize the likelihood that a wheelchair is delayed or 
lost?
     Does hands-on training for employees who handle mobility 
aid devices lead to fewer cases of mishandled wheelchairs and, if so, 
what are the costs and benefits of hands-on training programs?

Questions Relating to Actions To Ensure Safe Transfers to and From the 
Aircraft Seat

     What problems do passengers who require physical 
assistance encounter when traveling by air?
     What types of harm can result from inadequate or unsafe 
physical assistance?
     What financial costs (medical, transportation, lost wages, 
etc.), if any, do people who use wheelchairs incur due to unsafe 
physical assistance or other injuries sustained when traveling by air?
     What strategies are airlines or their contractors 
implementing to ensure transfers to and from the aircraft seat are done 
safely?
     What new or additional practices or procedures could be 
implemented by airlines or their contractors to increase safety and 
reduce risks of harm when physically assisting passengers?
     What are the challenges and limitations associated with 
the equipment currently used by airlines or their contractors (e.g., 
aisle chairs)?
     What new technologies or equipment exist that may improve 
safety for passengers who require physical assistance and for airline 
personnel, and what are the costs and benefits of implementing such new 
technologies or equipment?
     What data exist that show the effects of hands-on training 
for employees who physically assist persons with disabilities on 
safety, and what are the costs and benefits of hands-on training 
programs?

Questions Relating to Best Practices for Assisting Passengers When a 
Wheelchair Has Been Mishandled

     When a wheelchair has been mishandled, what resources or 
equipment are necessary to timely and safely assist the passenger at 
the airport?
     What types of wheelchairs are currently made available for 
passengers to temporarily use at the airport when their wheelchairs are 
mishandled and unavailable for use?
     How do airlines train frontline employees to address the 
needs of passengers whose wheelchairs were mishandled?
     What physical harm may result to people with disabilities 
when they cannot access their wheelchairs, and what measures can be 
implemented to prevent or reduce such harm?
     Do airlines have wheelchair repair/rental vendors that can 
assist with obtaining loaner chairs and with customized features and, 
if so, what are the associated costs?
     What improvements could be made to the damage claim, 
repair, and return process so that wheelchairs can be quickly returned 
or replaced?
    Requests to make oral comments during the meeting or submit written 
materials to be reviewed during the meeting should be sent to 
[email protected] no later than March 21, 2022. When making 
advance requests for oral comments, please identify which of the four 
topics identified above you wish to address. If there is an interest in 
addressing a topic not identified above but related to travel by 
individuals with disabilities who use wheelchairs, please identify that 
topic in your request. If time allows, questions or comments by those 
who did not make an advance request for oral comments will also be 
permitted. Participants may also submit comments or questions through 
Zoom's Chat feature to be addressed during the meeting as time permits.

III. Viewing Documents

    You may view documents associated with this meeting at https://www.regulations.gov. After entering the docket number (DOT-OST-2022-
0014), click the link to ``Open Docket Folder'' and choose the document 
to review.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 10th day of March 2022.
John E. Putnam,
Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2022-05422 Filed 3-14-22; 8:45 am]
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