14 CFR Part 382 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel (Air Carrier Access Act) (with amendments issued through July 2003)

§ 382.53 Medical certificates.

(a) Except as provided in this section, a carrier shall not require a person who is otherwise a qualified person with a disability to have a medical certificate as a condition for being provided transportation.

(b)(1) A carrier may require a medical certificate for a qualified individual with a disability --

(i) Who is traveling in a stretcher or incubator;

(ii) Who needs medical oxygen during a flight, as provided in 14 CFR 121.574; or

(iii) Whose medical condition is such that there is reasonable doubt that the individual can complete the flight safely, without requiring extraordinary medical assistance during the flight.

(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a medical certificate is a written statement from the passenger’s physician saying that the passenger is capable of completing a flight safely, without requiring extraordinary medical assistance during the flight.

(c)(1) If a qualified individual with a disability has a communicable disease or infection of the kind described in § 382.51(b), a carrier may require a medical certificate.

(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a medical certificate is a written statement from the passenger’s physician saying that the disease or infection would not, under the present conditions in the particular passenger’s case, be communicable to other persons during the normal course of a flight. The medical certificate shall state any conditions or precautions that would have to be observed to prevent the transmission of the disease or infection to other persons in the normal course of a flight. It shall be dated within ten days of the date of the flight for which it is presented.