U.S. Proposes New Rules to Ease Flying for Travelers in Wheelchairs

The Transportation Department said the proposed regulations would make it easier to hold airlines accountable for mishandling passengers’ wheelchairs.

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The proposed rules would require additional training for workers who physically assist disabled passengers or handle their wheelchairs.

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it was proposing new regulations for how airlines must treat passengers in wheelchairs, an effort aimed at improving air travel for people with disabilities.

Under the proposed rule, damaging or delaying the return of a wheelchair would be an automatic violation of an existing federal law that bars airlines from discriminating against people with disabilities. The Transportation Department said that change would make it easier for the agency to penalize airlines for mishandling wheelchairs.

The proposed regulations would also require more robust training for workers who physically assist disabled passengers or handle their wheelchairs.

“There are millions of Americans with disabilities who do not travel by plane because of inadequate airline practices and inadequate government regulation, but now we are setting out to change that,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “This new rule would change the way airlines operate to ensure that travelers using wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.”

For people in wheelchairs, flying can be difficult and uncomfortable, and mistakes by airlines can make for an even more agonizing experience. More than 11,000 wheelchairs and scooters were mishandled by airlines last year, according to the Transportation Department.

The proposed regulations add to earlier moves by the Biden administration intended to improve the flying experience for disabled travelers. In 2022, the Transportation Department published a bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities. Last year, the agency finalized new regulations to require more commercial aircraft to have accessible bathrooms.

Mark Walker is an investigative reporter focused on transportation. He is based in Washington. More about Mark Walker