October 27, 2011 - The Department of Transportation (DOT) introduces additional consumer protection requirements for airline passengers in an effort to make flying more convenient and hassle-free for everyone. 

DOT is proposing a requirement for airlines to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities and ensure that their ticket agents do the same. This proposal would also require airlines to make automated kiosks at U.S. airports accessible to passengers with disabilities. 

?I strongly believe that airline passengers with disabilities should have equal access to the same services as all other travelers,? said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. ?The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that airline passengers are treated fairly, and today?s action is part of that effort, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood?. 

Under the proposed rule, airlines would be required to make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities over a two-year period. Websites would be required to meet the standards for accessibility contained in the widely accepted Website Content Accessibility Guidelines.  

The requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers with websites marketing air transportation to U.S. consumers for travel within, to or from the United States.  Small ticket agents would be exempt from the requirement to have accessible websites.            

In addition, airlines and airports that use automated kiosks for services such as printing boarding passes and baggage tags would have to ensure that any kiosk ordered 60 days after the rule takes effect is accessible.  Standards for accessibility would be based on standards for automated transaction machines set by the Department of Justice in its 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act rule.  This requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers and U.S. airports that own, lease or control automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports with 10,000 or more annual boardings.

The principle here is simple, and the Air Carrier Access Act signed by President Reagan in 1986 made it the law of the land: airline passengers with disabilities should have equal access to the same services as all other travelers. Across America, we already have bank ATMs with accessible features that can be added to airport kiosks. DOT is proposing that airlines do what many banks are already doing for their customers with disabilities.