14 CFR Parts 382 and 399; 49 CFR Part 27 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports - Preamble

Mobile Web Sites, Mobile Apps, and Other Electronic Communication Technology

The SNPRM: The Department sought comment on whether carriers should be required to ensure that their mobile Web sites meet the WCAG 2.0 standard at Level AA or follow the W3C's MWBP 1.0, or both. We asked whether carriers should be required to ensure that any third party software downloadable from a link on the carrier's Web site (e.g., deal finding software) is accessible and to ensure other carrier-initiated electronic communications such as reservation confirmations, flight status notifications, and special offer emails are accessible. We also requested input on the costs and technical feasibility of ensuring that such content is accessible.

Comments: The Department received a number of responsive comments to our questions about the accessibility of mobile Web sites and other electronic information and communication technologies. Several advocacy organizations for individuals with vision impairment were pleased that the Department had acknowledged that primary Web sites represent only a portion of the air travel-related electronic information and communication that pose barriers to people with disabilities. These organizations strongly urged the Department to go further and require carriers to ensure that their mobile Web sites and other technologies used for electronic customer interface (e.g., email, text messages, and mobile applications) are accessible. Some commenters representing advocacy organizations urged the Department to require carriers to make their mobile Web sites conform to the W3C's MWBP, while others urged us to require mobile Web sites to conform to the same WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard as primary Web sites. Regarding mobile applications (apps), while some of these commenters acknowledged that most mobile phones are not yet fully accessible to blind and other visually impaired users, they felt strongly that mobile apps may overtake Web sites and kiosks as the method of choice for looking up flight information, selecting seats, checking in, etc. within the next few years. They urged the Department to require carriers to ensure that their apps are compatible with the built-in or external assistive technologies that individuals with disabilities use. Specifically, they asked us to require carriers to meet the accessibility standards developed by operating system developers (e.g., Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for mobile apps designed for Apple's iOS mobile operating system) or another recognized standard known to be compatible with available external assistive technology. As discussed earlier, a few of these commenters also urged the Department to adopt in 14 CFR part 382 DOJ's “effective communication” standard under ADA titles II and III and require accessibility of all electronic information and communication technologies used by carriers to interface with their customers. NCIL advocated that the Department take a stronger stance in its rulemakings to reflect the broader rights of people with disabilities to technology access as described in Section 508. By way of comparison, they observed the efforts of government agencies to effectively communicate with people from diverse cultural backgrounds by making their regulations and guidance documents available in multiple languages on agency Web sites, through printed media, and via interpreters on the telephone. NCIL believes that the same concentrated and sustained effort to include people with disabilities is overdue. They further regard failure to move in the direction of greater access for people with disabilities across the spectrum of electronic information and communication technologies as “unacceptable, unfair, and discriminatory” stating: “. . . mandates for accessibility of Web sites . . . [are] long overdue; DOT must not make the same mistake by neglecting to address mobile apps until several years from now.”

Carrier associations and individual carriers generally supported applying an accessibility standard to mobile Web sites only when the mobile Web site is the platform for making the content of a carrier's primary Web site accessible. They acknowledged that mobile Web sites typically do not contain all the content of primary Web sites. ITSA encouraged us to adopt a flexible standard for mobile Web sites (e.g., the W3C's MWBP). In general, industry commenters either expressed opposition or did not comment on our questions regarding accessibility of other electronic information and communication technologies used by carriers to interface with their customers.

DOT Decision: The Department unequivocally supports full accessibility of all electronic information and communication technologies used by the air transportation industry to interface with its customers. We believe that certain factors, however, preclude introducing new accessibility requirements for electronic information and communication technologies other than Web sites at this time. Four factors weighed most heavily in our decision: (1) No accessibility standard specifically for mobile Web sites exists at this time; (2) accessibility standards such as WCAG 2.0 cannot be readily applied to mobile applications designed for mobile platforms that are not accessible; (3) most mobile devices currently on the market are not accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired; and (4) the need to focus carrier attention and resources on bringing existing Web sites into compliance with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. We believe the best approach to expanding accessibility of electronic information and communication technology in the air travel industry is to allow carriers to focus their resources on bringing the covered public-facing content of their primary Web sites into full compliance with the WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard. As they do so, they will acquire expertise and develop technical efficiencies in implementing the standard. We have decided, therefore, not to require that mobile Web sites, email, text messaging, mobile apps, and other electronic communication technologies be accessible at this time. Nonetheless, we encourage carriers to develop their mobile Web sites in conformance with the W3C's current MWBP until such time as a standard for mobile Web sites is developed and adopted. We also encourage carriers to immediately begin incorporating accessibility features into email, text messaging, and other information and communication technologies they use to the extent feasible. Doing so will immediately and incrementally increase access to those technologies for individuals with disabilities. In addition, it may make compliance with any accessibility standard the Department may require for such technologies in the future easier and less costly.