Generally, the Air Carrier Access Act and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Carrier Access Rules prohibit airlines from requiring persons with disabilities to provide advance notice of their intent to travel or of their disability. However, air carriers may require up to 48 hours advance notice and one hour advance check-in from a person with a disability who wishes to receive any of the following services:
- transportation for an electric wheelchair on an aircraft with fewer than 60 seats;
- provision by the carrier of hazardous materials packaging for the battery of a wheelchair or other assistive device;
- accommodations for 10 or more passengers with disabilities who travel as a group; or
- provision of an on-board wheelchair on an aircraft that does not have an accessible lavatory for persons who can use an inaccessible lavatory but need an on-board chair to do so.
An airline that uses a "block seating" approach to provide special seating for passengers with disabilities may require 24 hours advance notice for such accommodations.
Carriers are not required to provide the following services or equipment, but should they choose to provide them, they may require 48 hours advance notice and a one hour advance check-in:
- medical oxygen for use on board the aircraft;
- carriage of an incubator;
- a hook-up for a respirator to the aircraft's electrical supply; or
- accommodations for a passenger who must travel on a stretcher.
Carriers may impose reasonable, nondiscriminatory charges for these optional services.
If a service is legally required, the airline must ensure that it is provided if appropriate notice has been given and the service requested is available on that particular flight. If a passenger does not meet advance notice or check-in requirements, carriers must make a reasonable effort to accommodate the requested service, so long as this does not delay the flight.
If a passenger with a disability provides the required notice but is required to fly on another carrier (for example, if the flight is cancelled), the original carrier must, to the maximum extent feasible, provide assistance to the second carrier in furnishing the accommodation requested by the individual. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |