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Scandinavian Airline System (SAS) Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with Disabilities

Friday, November 16, 2018

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined Scandinavian Airline System (SAS) $200,000 for violating federal law and the Department’s rule protecting air travelers with disabilities, and ordered it to cease and desist from future similar violations. 

In February 2017, DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office discovered that SAS violated the Department’s website accessibility requirements when it created a separate website for individuals with disabilities instead of ensuring that its primary website met the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA standard, as required by the Air Carrier Access Act.  Information on the WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard can be found here.

The Department’s website accessibility requirements were implemented in two phases, with the second phase requiring airlines to ensure that all webpages on their primary websites were accessible by December 12, 2016.  SAS no longer has an alternative separate website designed for individuals with disabilities and SAS’s primary website is accessible. 

The consent order is available at www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2018-0001.

DOT has redesigned its airline consumer website to make it easy for travelers to understand their rights: http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.  The page on traveling with a disability can be found here.  Consumers may file a complaint with the Department here.

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