Safe and Accessible Air Travel

More than one in every 100 wheelchairs and scooters transported in the aircraft cargo compartment of domestic flights are damaged, delayed, or lost.  Enabling passengers to stay in their personal wheelchairs on aircraft, a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Disability Policy Priority, will increase the safety and dignity of air travel and increase access for travelers with disabilities. Read more below about the research DOT is doing to ensure this policy will meet the safety, equity, and utility needs of airline passengers who use wheelchairs.

Watch a video of Secretary Pete Buttigieg explaining DOT’s commitment to advancing safe and accessible air travel for people with disabilities

Air Carrier Access Act

In FY23, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated a three-year research roadmap to investigate the feasibility of enabling passengers to stay in their personal wheelchairs while travelling on commercial aircraft. This research program builds on the U.S. Access Board and Transportation Research Board Report on the Feasibility of Wheelchair Securement Systems on Passenger Aircraft  and may support potential future rulemaking. The research will evaluate occupant safety and crashworthiness aspects of installing wheelchairs on commercial aircraft and has the following goals, in chronological order:

• Determine suitability of ISO/RESNA wheelchair standards as a basis for aircraft structural compatibility
• Evaluate and identify candidate restraint systems
• Report on aircraft considerations necessary to utilize suitable restraint systems, and wheelchair standards necessary for aircraft compatibility

FAA and the Office of the Secretary (OST) will convene stakeholders throughout this research process to raise awareness, share interim findings, and discuss operational considerations covered by FAA’s safety and engineering research.

Air Carrier Access Act

Learn more on the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection webpage about the Air Carrier Access Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel by U.S. airlines regardless of where their operations take place and by foreign airlines on flights to and from the United States.

Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights

DOT worked with members of the Air Carrier Access Act Advisory Committee, which includes voices from the disability community and industry stakeholders, to create the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights describes the fundamental rights of air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation. This easy-to-use summary will empower travelers to understand their rights and help the travel industry uphold those rights.

Disability Policy Priorities to Enable Safe and Accessible Air Travel

As part of DOT’s Disability Policy Priorities, adopted in July 2022 during a celebration of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Department has committed to the priority actions below to enable safe and accessible air travel.