AIR CARRIER ACCESS ACT
The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air transportation by air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. Air carriers are required to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled services for hire to the public.
Requirements address a wide range of issues including boarding assistance and certain accessibility features in newly built aircraft and new or altered airport facilities.
Carriers may not require a disabled person to travel with an attendant, except in certain limited circumstances specified in the rule. If a disabled person and the carrier disagree about the need for an attendant, the airline can require the attendant, but cannot charge for the transportation of the attendant.
Airlines are required to provide assistance with boarding, deplaning and making connections. (They need not hand-carry a person on board a plane with less than 30 seats whose physical limitations preclude the use of existing lifts, boarding chairs, or other devices. The Department of Transportation is continuing to seek additional data about lifts for small aircraft.)
Assistance within the cabin is also required, but not extensive personal services. Disabled passengers' items stored in the cabin must conform to FAA rules on the stowage of carryon baggage. Assistive devices do not count against any limit on the number of pieces of carryon baggage. Wheelchairs and other Assistive devices have priority for in-cabin storage space over other passengers' items brought on board at the same airport, if the disabled passenger chooses to pre-board. Wheelchairs and other Assistive devices have priority over other items for storage in the baggage compartment.
Carriers must accept
battery-powered wheelchairs, including the batteries, packaging the batteries
in hazardous materials packages when necessary. The carrier provides the packaging.
Carriers may not charge for providing accommodations required by the rule, such
as hazardous materials packaging for batteries. However, they may charge for optional
services such as oxygen.
Uatpat.org - The Utah Assistive Technology Program is designed to help you know what assistive technology is available, how to get funding for assistive technology, and to provide you with links and resources.