Air Carrier Access Act Technical Assistance Manual (2005)

H. Your Obligation to Provide Services and Equipment

When assistance getting on or off a plane, making flight connections, or receiving transportation between gates is requested by a passenger with a disability, or offered by carrier personnel and accepted by the passenger, you must provide it. [Sec. 382.39(a)] More specifically, you must provide, as needed, the following:

• services personnel

• ground wheelchairs

• boarding wheelchairs

• ramps or mechanical lifts. [Sec. 382.39(a)(1)]

Aircraft with more than 60 passenger seats having an accessible lavatory must be equipped with an operable on-board wheelchair. [Sec. 382.21(a)(4)] On-board wheelchairs must be equipped with footrests, armrests which are movable or removable, adequate occupant restraint systems, a backrest height that permits assistance to passengers in transferring, structurally sound handles for maneuvering the occupied chair, and wheel locks or another adequate means to prevent chair movement during transfer or turbulence. The on-board wheelchair must be designed to be compatible with the maneuvering space, aisle width, and seat height of the aircraft on which it is to be used, and to easily be pushed, pulled, and turned in the cabin environment. [Sec. 382.21(a)(4)(iii)]

You must permit a passenger with a disability to provide written instructions and should accept oral advice from the passenger concerning the disassembly and reassembly of the passenger’s wheelchair. [Sec. 382.41(h)] In addition, you should be familiar with how (i) a passenger accesses and uses a particular service or piece of equipment; (ii) the passenger’s needs are being met by the service or piece of equipment; and (iii) that service should be provided or how that equipment operates, is disassembled, stored properly, and reassembled. Finally, consistent with good customer service, you should treat the passenger with a disability with courtesy and respect at all times by keeping the passenger informed about any problems or delays in providing personnel or equipment in connection with an accommodation.

Example: A passenger using a battery-powered wheelchair arrives at the gate and requests that the footrests and joy stick be removed and stowed. He expresses concern because after his last flight, the airline personnel initially misplaced one of the components of the wheelchair when they disassembled it and stored it during the flight. What should you do?

Presuming the aircraft is the type that can accommodate the storage of a battery-powered wheelchair, you are required to stow his wheelchair properly on board and you may, if needed, provide an aisle chair. As a preliminary matter, you should receive training from your carrier on the use of equipment and services for passengers with a disability, including battery-powered wheelchairs. In addition to the formal training, it is worthwhile to review with the passenger how best to meet his needs. For example, you should ask the passenger to review the procedure for disassembling the wheelchair, storing parts during the flight, and reassembling the wheelchair. Once you are clear about the process, you should communicate with the appropriate employees to ensure that they understand the passenger’s needs with respect to his battery-powered wheelchair. Your carrier should have a policy and process for ensuring that the battery-powered wheelchair is returned to the passenger at his destination in the same condition in which it was received by the carrier. Problems concerning the reassembly of expensive battery-powered wheelchairs can be minimized by following section 382.41(g)(2), which governs the proper storage of such wheelchairs. See also Chapter 5, Section D.