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Air Carrier Access Act Technical Assistance Manual (2005)

Note: This document was originally published in 2005, so all references to 14 CFR part 382 herein are hyperlinked to the version that was current at the time of publication (14 CFR Part 382 with amendments issued through July 2003). Click here to view additional versions of this regulation and other publications related to air transportation.

D. Stowing and Treatment of Personal Equipment

You should be familiar with the legal requirements for storage and treatment of personal equipment used by passengers with a disability, including ventilator/respirators, non-spillable batteries, canes, wheelchairs, and other assistive devices. [Sec. 382.41]

Storing Assistive Devices in the Aircraft Cabin

You must allow passengers with a disability to bring their personal ventilators/respirators, including non-spillable batteries, on board the aircraft as long as FAA safety regulations are met. [Sec. 382.41(b)] You must permit passengers to stow their canes and other assistive devices in the cabin and close to their seats, consistent with FAA safety regulations concerning carry-on items. [Sec. 382.41(c)]

Example: Because a passenger with a disability arrived at the airport late, time and space constraints on board the aircraft require you to store her assistive walking device in first class, even though her seat assignment is in the back of the plane in economy class. She insists that she has the right to have her assistive walking device stored near her. She explains further that she would need this device to access and use the lavatory. What should you do?

You must permit a passenger with a disability to bring her assistive devices into the cabin as long as FAA safety regulations are met. [Sec. 382.41(b)] In addition, the rule generally requires you to allow a passenger to stow her assistive device close to her seat, consistent with FAA safety regulations concerning carry-on items. [Sec. 382.41(c)] Under the circumstances, you should reassess the storage space and consider either moving the passenger closer to her walker or the walker closer to the passenger.

You must not count assistive devices brought on board the aircraft by a passenger with a disability toward the limit on the passenger’s carry-on items. [Sec. 382.41(d)] Wheelchairs and other assistive devices that cannot be stowed in the cabin must be stowed in the baggage compartment with priority over other cargo and baggage. [Sec. 382.41(f)(3)] In addition, because carriers cannot charge for facilities, equipment, or services required under the law to be provided to qualified individuals with a disability, no charge would be imposed if a wheelchair or assistive device exceeded the weight limit on checked baggage. [Sec. 382.57]

Example: A passenger with multiple sclerosis is one of many passengers on a flight who is informed that the flight will not be taking off because of mechanical problems. It is late at night and the carrier has announced that the passengers will be put up in a hotel for the night and rescheduled on a flight leaving the following morning. The passenger with multiple sclerosis approaches you when she hears the announcement and explains that she needs access to her checked luggage because it contains her syringe and medication for her multiple sclerosis which she must take on a daily basis. What should you do?

The passenger’s syringe and medication would be considered an assistive device under the law. Under section 382.41(f)(1), because the passenger requested the return of her assistive device, you must return it to her. As a matter of customer service, you may also advise such passengers (e.g., via the carrier’s web site or other consumer information materials) that the carrier recommends to all of its passengers who require such medication or other items for medical necessity to bring a carry-on bag containing the medication or other item on board. Such medication carry-on bags would not be counted toward the passenger’s carry-on baggage allotment.

Wheelchairs

Carriers must permit storage in the cabin of wheelchairs or components of wheelchairs, including folding, collapsible, or breakdown battery-powered wheelchairs [Sec. 382.41(e)] as follows:

• In overhead compartments and under seats consistent with FAA safety regulations for carry-on items. [Sec. 382.41(e)(1)]

• If the aircraft contains a closet or storage area of a size sufficient to accommodate a passenger’s folding, collapsible, or breakdown wheelchair, the carrier must designate priority stowage space for at least one passenger’s wheelchair in that area. If a passenger with a disability decides to pre-board, the passenger may stow the wheelchair in the designated storage space with priority over the carry-on items brought on board by other passengers or crew members boarding the plane at the same airport. If, on the other hand, a passenger with a disability chooses not to pre-board, the passenger may stow the wheelchair in the designated storage space on a first-come, first-served basis along with all other passengers seeking to stow carry-on items in the space. [Sec. 382.41(e)(2)]

• If the aircraft cabin does not contain a storage area of a size sufficient to accommodate a folding, collapsible, or breakdown wheelchair, you must stow the wheelchair in the cargo compartment with priority over other luggage. [Sec. 382.41(e)(3)]

Wheelchairs Unable to be Stowed in the Aircraft Cabin as Carry-on

When a folding, collapsible, or break-down wheelchair cannot be stowed in the cabin as carry-on baggage, you must ensure the timely checking and return of the passenger’s wheelchair or other assistive device as close as possible to the door of the aircraft, so that the passenger with a disability can use his or her own equipment, where possible, consistent with DOT regulations concerning transportation of hazardous materials. [Sec. 382.41(f)]

If, on the other hand, a passenger with a disability requests, you should return the wheelchair or other assistive device at the baggage claim area instead of at the door of the aircraft. [Sec. 382.41(f)(1)] A passenger’s wheelchair or other assistive device must be stowed in the baggage compartment with priority over other items and baggage. [Sec. 382.41(f)(3)] In order to ensure the timely return of a passenger’s wheelchair or other assistive device, it must be among the first items retrieved from the baggage compartment. [Sec. 382.41(f)(2)] If giving priority to wheelchairs and other assistive devices results in passengers’ non-assistive device-related baggage being unable to be carried on the flight, you must use your best efforts to ensure that the non-assistive device-related baggage reaches the passengers’ destination within four hours of the scheduled arrival time of the flight.

Battery-powered Wheelchairs

You must accept a passenger’s battery-powered wheelchair, including the battery, as checked baggage unless baggage compartment size and aircraft airworthiness considerations prohibit it. [Sec. 382.41(g)]

Carriers may require that a passenger with a disability wishing to have a battery-powered wheelchair transported on a flight (including in the cabin where required) check in for the flight one hour before the scheduled departure time. [Sec. 382.41(g)(1)] You must also make a reasonable effort to accommodate the passenger and transport the wheelchair even if the passenger does not check in one hour before the scheduled departure time, as long as it would not delay the flight.

If (i) the battery on the passenger’s wheelchair has been labeled by the manufacturer as non-spillable or (ii) the battery-powered wheelchair with a spillable battery can be loaded, stored, secured, and unloaded in an upright position, you must not require the battery to be removed and separately packaged. You may remove and package separately any battery that appears to be damaged or leaking. [Sec. 382.41(g)(2)]

When it is necessary to detach a battery from a wheelchair, you must provide packaging for the battery and package the battery consistent with appropriate hazardous materials regulations. [Sec. 382.41(g)(3)] You must not charge for such packaging. [Sec. 382.57]

You must not drain batteries. [Sec. 382.41(g)(4)]

If a passenger with a disability requests, you must stow a folding, breakdown, or collapsible battery-powered wheelchair in the cabin consistent with the requirements set forth above. If the wheelchair can be stowed in the cabin without removing the battery, then you must not remove the battery. If the wheelchair cannot be stowed in the cabin without removing the battery, then you must remove the battery and stow it in the baggage compartment in the proper packaging as set forth above. In this case, you must permit the wheelchair, with the battery removed, to be stowed in the cabin. [Sec. 382.41(g)(5)]

You must permit passengers with a disability to provide written instructions concerning the disassembly and reassembly of their wheelchairs. [Sec. 382.41(h)] When you disassemble wheelchairs or other assistive devices for stowage, you must reassemble them and ensure their prompt return to the passenger with a disability. You must return a wheelchair or other assistive device to the passenger in the same condition in which you received it. [Sec. 382.43(a)]

On domestic flights, the normal baggage liability limits do not apply to loss, damage, or delay concerning wheelchairs or other assistive devices. Instead, the criterion for calculating the compensation for lost, damaged, or destroyed wheelchairs or other assistive devices must be the original price of the device. [Sec. 382.43(b)] Moreover, you must not require a passenger with a disability to sign a waiver of liability for damage to or loss of a wheelchair or other assistive device, although you may make notes about preexisting damage or conditions of wheelchairs or other assistive devices. [Sec. 382.43(c)]

Example: A passenger with a battery-powered wheelchair with a spillable battery arrived at his departure gate for his domestic flight and airline personnel there determined that the wheelchair could not be loaded, stored, secured, and unloaded in an upright position. Therefore, they directed the appropriate personnel to remove and store the battery and gate check the wheelchair. When the passenger arrives at his destination and the battery is replaced, it is done so incorrectly and the entire electronic circuit board of the wheelchair is severely damaged, rendering the wheelchair temporarily unusable. What should you do?

Upon request, you must permit passengers with a disability to provide written instructions concerning the disassembly and reassembly of their wheelchairs. As a matter of good customer service, you should apologize to the passenger for the problem and the resulting inconvenience. In addition, you should explain to the passenger that the carrier will compensate him for the damaged wheelchair in an amount up to the original purchase price of the device. If, for example, the passenger provides you with documentation that the original cost of the wheelchair was $10,000 and verification that it cost $2,900 to be repaired, the carrier would pay the passenger or the repair company $2,900 to cover the cost of the wheelchair repair. In addition, paying for reasonable costs associated with the rental of a wheelchair by the passenger during the repair period could also be recovered by the passenger from the carrier.

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