Air Carrier Access

While there is much in common between different countries' approaches in disability antidiscrimination legislation to employment and goods and services, there is considerable variation in approach to air carrier access throughout the world.

In the United States, for example, access is dealt with primarily by means of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA; 1986). The act provided for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop new regulations that ensure that disabled people would be treated without discrimination in a way consistent with the safe carriage of all passengers. The relevant regulations (the Air Carrier Access rules) were published in March 1990. The legislation and rules prohibit discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled services for hire to the public. Requirements address a [Page 87]wide range of issues including boarding assistance and certain accessibility features in newly built aircraft and new or altered airport facilities. People may enforce rights under the ACAA by filing a complaint with the DOT or by bringing a lawsuit in federal court (although recent decisions have cast doubt on the ability of individuals to bring a lawsuit under the ACAA—see Love v. Delta Air Lines, 310F 3d. 1347 11th Cir [2002], and the National Disability Council Position Paper on Amending the ACAA to Allow for Private Right of Action, July 8, 2004).

In January 2004, the DOT produced a report on the implementation of the ACAA, in which it detailed some of the ways it had dealt with a failure to comply with the act: “For example, the Enforcement Office has instituted an in-depth investigation of eight major air carriers for violations of the ACAA relating to boarding and wheelchair assistance based on formal and informal complaints. These investigations have resulted in separate consent orders under which a number of airlines were directed to cease and desist from further violations of the ACAA and Department regulations prohibiting discrimination against air travelers with a disability. These investigations also assessed civil penalties to $1.35 million” (Implementing 2004:1).

In Australia, the Australian Disability Discrimination Act (1992) makes it unlawful to discriminate in relation to access to premises, including public transportation. In addition—and perhaps as regards transport, more important—specific provision is made in the act for disability standards to be drawn up in relation to the provision of public transportation services and facilities. Failure to comply with these standards is made unlawful. Such standards have now been drawn up, although this has taken 10 years since passage of the ADA. The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport (2002) apply to public transport vehicles, conveyances, premises, and infrastructure and set out a timetable for adjustment by public transport operators over 30 years, with fixed milestones every 5 years. They list detailed accessibility requirements including access paths, ramps, boarding devices, allocated spaces, handrails, doorways, controls, signage, information provision, and much more. Given the late passage of the regulations, it is likely to be some time before significant improvements are seen in disability access to air carriers in Australia.

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