Secretary Buttigieg Announces Sweeping Protections for Airline Passengers with Disabilities

Newly released final rule is the biggest expansion of rights for passengers with disabilities in a generation 

Earlier this year, DOT issued a record-breaking penalty against American Airlines for unsafe and undignified treatment of passengers with disabilities 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued new protections for people with disabilities in commercial air travel that will ensure that they can fly safely and with dignity.

The new final rule requires that airlines meet more rigorous standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities, especially for passengers who use wheelchairs. The rule sets new standards for assistance, mandates hands-on training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs, and specifies actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged or delayed during transport.

“Every passenger deserves safe, dignified travel when they fly—and we’ve taken unprecedented actions to hold airlines accountable when they do not provide fair treatment to passengers with disabilities,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “With the new protections we’re announcing today, we’re establishing a new standard for air travel—with clear and thorough guidelines for airlines to ensure that passengers using wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.”

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