Department of Transportation Announces New Protections for Passengers With Disabilities

Under new Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, airline and airport personal will need training on how to properly handle mobility equipment for passengers, prompt notifications of what’s happening with their equipment, and fare-matching when passengers must book a more expensive flight because a certain aircraft can’t accommodate them.

This is the largest expansion of passenger rights in a generation for those with disabilities. The new DOT rules will start to take effect on January 16, 2025, though implementation of the associated training requirements will not finish until June 17, 2026.

Here’s a look at the new rules and how they will benefit the roughly 5.5 million Americans who use wheelchairs.

New DOT Protections for Passengers Using Mobility Equipment

Passengers using mobility equipment like a scooter or a wheelchair face extra difficulties, such as plane aisles that are too narrow to accommodate them. There’s also the risk of lost, delayed, or mishandled equipment. According to the DOT, 1 of these devices doesn’t arrive on time — or doesn’t arrive in its original condition — for every 100 devices transported on domestic flights.

And that only accounts for those who fly. A survey from the Paralyzed Veterans of America found that 1 in 10 people with a disability don’t fly because of fears ranging from bodily harm to inaccessibility and damage to their wheelchair.

“Every passenger deserves safe, dignified travel when they fly — and we’ve taken unprecedented actions to hold airlines accountable when they do not provide fair treatment to passengers with disabilities,” said DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With the new protections we’re announcing today, we’re establishing a new standard for air travel — with clear and thorough guidelines for airlines to ensure that passengers using wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.”

New protections for these passengers include the following:

• Safe and Dignified Assistance Standard: Airlines must provide service that doesn’t put travelers with disabilities at an elevated risk of injury, and travelers’ independence, autonomy, and privacy must be respected.
• Enhanced Training for Airline Personnel and Contractors: Annual training, including hands-on training, is required for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers or handle their mobility devices. This training program must be in effect by June 17, 2026.
• Prompt Enplaning, Deplaning, and Connecting Assistance: Boarding, deplaning, and connecting assistance must be prompt, and anyone who uses a boarding wheelchair should find staff ready to receive them as soon as the last unassisted passenger deplanes the aircraft. The passenger’s personal wheelchair or scooter should be ready at this time, located as close to the plane’s door as possible.
• Rebuttable Presumption of a Violation for Mishandlings: Airlines must return passengers’ checked equipment in the condition it was received. If that doesn’t happen, the assumption will be that the airline violated the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) by mishandling the equipment, though a rebuttal process will include instructions on how the airline can demonstrate it wasn’t at fault.
• Passenger Notifications:
  • Prior to Departure: Airlines must notify passengers in writing when checking in wheelchairs and scooters. This notification must advise passengers of their rights in case of mishandling. Airlines also must notify passengers once their equipment is loaded onto the plane — including notifications and a reason why the equipment couldn’t be loaded onto the same flight as the passenger. This must happen before the boarding door closes.
  • Upon Arrival: Airlines must notify passengers when their equipment has been unloaded from the plane, and it must be done before disembarkation.
  • After Equipment Mishandling: Airlines must notify passengers in writing, advising them of their rights to file a claim with the airline, their right to receive loaner equipment from the airline (including certain customizations), their right to choose a preferred vendor for repairs or replacements, and their right to speak with a Complaint Resolution Official. Airlines also must provide status updates on delayed equipment.
• Publication of Information Related to Aircraft Cargo Holds: Airlines must make information easily accessible online regarding dimensions and other characteristics of the cargo holds of all plane types, including dimensions of the entry to the cargo hold.
• Prompt Return of Delayed Wheelchairs or Scooters: Airlines must return delayed equipment to the final destination within 24 hours of the passenger’s arrival for domestic and short international flights. Long international flights (those over 12 hours) have a 30-hour window. Passengers will have a choice between having the equipment delivered to a suitable location, such as their home or hotel, or picking it up at the airport.
• Reimbursement for Accessible Ground Transportation: If equipment is delayed or mishandled and the passenger must take ground transportation, the airline will need to reimburse these costs.
• Prompt Repair or Replacement of Damaged Wheelchairs: Passengers will have the option of the airline handling the case and paying for it or the passenger handling the case and the airline taking the equipment to the vendor. In either situation, the airline will not make the passenger pay first and wait for reimbursement.
• Loaner Wheelchair or Scooter Accommodations: Equipment must fit the passenger’s functional needs and will not create any extra costs for the passenger. If the airline can’t provide a suitable loaner, the airline must reimburse the passenger for the cost of obtaining one.
• Reimbursement of Fare Difference: If a passenger must choose a more expensive flight because a certain plane type can’t handle their wheelchair or scooter, the airline must refund the cost difference. This is limited to flights on the same day with the same airline.
• Rebooking Requirements: If a passenger’s mobility equipment isn’t loaded onto the same flight for any reason, the airline must offer to deplane the passenger and rebook them on another flight at no cost.
• Seating Accommodations at the Airport: Airlines must consult with disability rights organizations to provide safe and adequate seating accommodations while passengers wait at the airport for delayed equipment or for the receipt of loaner equipment.
• New Improved Standards for On-Board Wheelchairs (OBW): As of October 2, 2026, these new standards will apply to twin-aisle aircraft and purchases of equipment for use on planes with more than 60 seats. They will match requirements for single-aisle planes with more than 125 seats. As equipment is phased out, all OBWs for use on planes with more than 60 seats must meet this standard by October 2, 2031.

Final Thoughts

The Department of Transportation is introducing broad new rules to ensure passengers who rely on a scooter, wheelchair, or other mobility device don’t incur extra costs while traveling. Beyond that, the rules should help alleviate the fears of those who haven’t flown because they aren’t sure planes can handle their equipment — or fears about what might happen to their equipment while in an airline’s control.