Proposed rule aims to improve air travel for wheelchair users

“We’re really trying to make clear that just like a number of other passenger protections required by rule and by law, taking proper care of wheelchairs and the passengers to use them is fundamental and is required,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during a briefing with reporters. “And there are consequences for airlines that don’t do that.”

The rulemaking also seeks to make mishandling of wheelchairs and other assistive devices an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act, a shift that would enable officials to more easily penalize and hold air carriers accountable when mobility devices are damaged or mishandled, Buttigieg said. In addition, under the proposed rule, carriers would have to make loaner wheelchairs available when users’ devices are being repaired or replaced.

According to the Transportation Department, an estimated 5.5 million Americans use a wheelchair and many encounter barriers when traveling by air. Since 2018, air carriers have been required to report the number of mobility devices they’ve mishandled, damaged, delayed or destroyed. In 2022, more than 11,000 wheelchairs, power wheelchairs and scooters were lost, damaged, delayed or stolen. Those numbers are expected to be even higher for 2023, officials said.

The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rules — part of a push by the administration to improve the flying experience for everyone. Other steps the administration has taken include making billions of dollars available through various programs to improve accessibility at airports, rail and subway stations, Buttigieg said. The administration also has moved to finalize rules to make bathrooms on single-aisle aircraft accessible to people with disabilities.

“The basic promise of transportation is the idea that everyone should be able to travel safely and freely to the places that they need to be,” Buttigieg said. “And if a person is not able to travel simply because someone else decides it’s too hard to accommodate them, the world shrinks for that traveler. It also shrinks for everyone else who would benefit from that person’s presence in any context, from a family gathering to a board meeting.”