Passengers with Disabilities: A Summary of DOT Rule Title 14 CFR Part 382

Accessibility of Facilities

◼ New aircraft¹ with 30 or more seats must have movable aisle armrests on half the aisle seats in the aircraft.

◼ New twin-aisle aircraft must have accessible lavatories.

◼ New aircraft with 100 or more seats must have priority space for storing a passenger’s folding wheelchair in the cabin.

◼ Aircraft with more than 60 seats and an accessible lavatory must have an on-board wheelchair, regardless of when the aircraft was ordered or delivered. For flights on aircraft with more than 60 seats that do not have an accessible lavatory, airlines must place an on-board wheelchair on the flight if a passenger with a disability gives the airline 48 hours’ notice that he or she can use an inaccessible lavatory but needs an on-board wheelchair to reach the lavatory.

◼ Airlines must ensure that airport facilities and services that they own, lease or control are accessible in the manner prescribed in the rule. 

¹ "New aircraft” requirements apply to U.S. airlines with respect to planes ordered after April 5, 1990 or delivered after April 5, 1992. In general they apply to foreign carriers with respect to aircraft ordered after May 13, 2009 or delivered after May 13, 2010. No retrofit is required (although compliance with on-board wheelchair requirements became mandatory for U.S. airlines on April 5, 1992 regardless of the plane’s age). If older planes are refurbished, accessibility features (e.g., movable armrests) must be added.