[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46611-46613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22210]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
14 CFR Part 382
49 CFR Part 27
[Docket OST-99-6159; Notice No: 5]
RIN 2105-AC81
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel:
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs and Activities
Receiving or Benefiting from Federal Financial Assistance
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Department is proposing to amend its rules implementing
the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 concerning the provision of equipment to
facilitate the boarding by individuals with disabilities on aircraft
where level-entry boarding is not now available. The proposed rule
would require air carriers and airports to work jointly to make lifts
or other boarding devices available for aircraft, of whatever size,
where level-entry loading bridges or existing lifts are not present.
DATES: Comments are requested on or before November 24, 1999. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Docket Clerk, Docket No. OST-99-
6159, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., Room PL-401,
Washington, DC, 20590. Comments will be available for inspection at
this address from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and are
also viewable through the Dockets Management System (DMS) portion of
the Department's web (www.dot.gov). Commenters may also submit comments
electronically. Commenters who wish to do so should follow the
instructions on the DMS site. Commenters who wish the receipt of their
comments to be acknowledged should include a stamped, self-addressed
postcard with their comments. The Docket Clerk will date-stamp the
postcard and mail it back to the commenter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant
General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, Department of
Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., Room 10424, Washington, DC, 20590.
(202) 366-9306 (voice); (202) 755-7687 (TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 1, 1996, the Department
published a final rule requiring airports and airlines to work together
to ensure that lifts were available to provide level-entry boarding for
passengers with disabilities who were flying on small commuter
aircraft. This rule applied to aircraft with a seating capacity of 19-
30 passengers. The final rule, and the proposal that led to it, did not
address the issue of level entry boarding for aircraft with 31 or more
seats.
The original 1990 Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) rule provided that,
with an exception relevant only to the small commuter aircraft
category, carriers must use ``ramps, mechanical lifts, or other devices
(not normally used for freight)'' to provide boarding assistance, where
level-entry boarding by loading bridge or mobile lounge was not
available (14 CFR 382.39(a)(2)). The term ``other devices'' has been
interpreted to include boarding chairs carried up aircraft stairs by
carrier personnel.
Carrying passengers up stairs in a boarding chair is generally
viewed as an undesirable way of providing access, for reasons having to
do with the dignity, safety, and comfort of passengers. (It also
increases risks to carrier personnel involved.) Consequently, the
Department is proposing in this notice to require carriers to make
lifts available for boarding assistance to any aircraft with a seating
capacity of 31 seats or more where level-entry boarding by loading
bridge or mobile lounge is not available. This requirement would apply
to medium-size commuter aircraft or regional jets that are typically
boarded from the tarmac in most airports, as well as to larger jets (up
to and including ``jumbo jets'') at those airports or gates where, for
some reason, level-entry boarding is not otherwise available.
The proposed regulatory provisions parallel those for small
commuter aircraft. Carriers and airports would have to work together,
create an agreement, and phase in implementation of lift service over a
reasonable period of time. The Department seeks comment on whether
there are any situations covered by the proposal in which providing
lift access would be impracticable (e.g., analogous to the ``problem
aircraft'' exempted from the small commuter aircraft lift rule).
The lift rule for small commuter aircraft had a phased-in
implementation schedule, varying by size of airport. Because the draft
regulatory evaluation for this rulemaking concludes that existing
lifts, or lifts being put in place in response to the small commuter
aircraft lift rule, will be sufficient to meet the proposed
requirements, the
[[Page 46612]]
NPRM proposes an 18-month deadline for using lifts for larger aircraft
at all airports. We specifically seek comment on this point.
Regulatory Analyses and Notices
This NPRM does not propose a significant rule under Executive Order
12866 or the Department's Regulatory Policies and Procedures. A
regulatory evaluation that examines the projected costs and impacts of
the proposal has been placed in the docket. It concludes that
incremental costs of the requirement would be negligible, because lifts
already in place or required to be in place by existing rules could
meet the proposal's requirements.
The Department certifies that this rule, if adopted, would not have
a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small
entities. The basis for this statement is that the overall national
annual costs are not great, and few airline companies operating
aircraft of the type covered by the NPRM and commercial service
airports could properly be regarded as small entities. Nevertheless,
the Department specifically seeks comment on whether there are small
entity impacts the Department should consider, and what those impacts
are. If comments provide information that there are significant small
entity impacts, the Department will provide a regulatory flexibility
analysis at the final rule stage. The Department does not believe that
there would be sufficient Federalism impacts to warrant the preparation
of a Federalism Assessment.
List of Subjects
14 CFR Part 382
Air carriers, Consumer protection, Individuals with disabilities,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
49 CFR Part 27
Airports, Civil rights, Individuals with disabilities, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Issued this 18th day of August, 1999, at Washington, DC.
Rodney E. Slater,
Secretary of Transportation.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department proposes
to amend 14 CFR part 382 and 49 CFR part 27 as follows:
14 CFR PART 382--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 382 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 41702, 47105, and 41712.
2. Section 382.39 is proposed to be amended as follows:
a. Paragraph (a)(2) is proposed to be revised;
b. Paragraphs (b) and (c) are proposed to be redesignated as
paragraphs (c) and (d), respectively, and a new paragraph (b) is
proposed to be added. The proposed addition and revision to Sec. 382.39
read as follows:
Sec. 382.39 Provision of services and equipment.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(2) Boarding shall be by level-entry loading bridges or accessible
passenger lounges, where these means are available. Where these means
are unavailable, boarding assistance to commuter aircraft with fewer
than 30 seats shall be provided as set forth in Sec. 382.40, and
boarding assistance for aircraft with 31 or more seats shall be
provided as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. In no case
shall carrier personnel be required to hand-carry a passenger in order
to provide boarding assistance (i.e., directly to pick up the
passenger's body in the arms of one or more carrier personnel to effect
a level change the passenger needs to enter or leave the aircraft).
* * * * *
(b) This paragraph applies to aircraft with a seating capacity of
31 or more passengers, in any situation in which passengers are not
boarded by level-entry loading bridges or accessible passenger lounges.
In these situations, carriers shall, in cooperation with the airports
they serve, provide boarding assistance to individuals with
disabilities using mechanical lifts, ramps, or other suitable devices
that do not require employees to lift or carry passengers up stairs.
(1) Each carrier shall negotiate in good faith with the airport
operator at each airport concerning the acquisition and use of boarding
assistance devices. The carrier(s) and the airport operator shall, by
no later than (insert date mine months from the effective date of this
section), sign a written agreement allocating responsibility for
meeting the boarding assistance requirements of this section between or
among the parties. The agreement shall be made available, on request,
to representatives of the Department of Transportation.
(2) The agreement shall provide that all actions necessary to
ensure accessible boarding for passengers with disabilities are
completed as soon as practicable, but no later than (insert a date 18
months from the effective date of the rule). All air carriers and
airport operators involved are jointly responsible for the timely and
complete implementation of the agreement.
(3) Under the agreement, carriers may require that passengers
wishing to receive boarding assistance requiring the use of a lift for
a flight check in for the flight one hour before the scheduled
departure time for the flight. If the passenger checks in after this
time, the carrier shall nonetheless provide the boarding assistance by
lift if it can do so by making a reasonable effort, without delaying
the flight.
(4) When boarding assistance cannot be provided as required by for
reasons beyond the control of the parties to the agreement (e.g.,
because of mechanical problems with a lift), boarding assistance shall
be provided by any available means to which the passenger consents,
except hand-carrying as defined in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(5) The agreement shall ensure that all lifts and other
accessibility equipment are maintained in proper working condition.
(6) The training of carrier personnel required by Sec. 382.61 shall
include, for those personnel involved in providing boarding assistance,
training to proficiency in the use of the boarding assistance equipment
used by the carrier and appropriate boarding assistance procedures that
safeguard the safety and dignity of passengers.
* * * * *
49 CFR PART 27--[AMENDED]
3. The authority citation for Part 27 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (29 U.S.C. 794); sec. 16(a) and (d) of the Federal Transit
Act of 1964, as amended (49 U.S.C. 5310(a) and (f); sec. 165(b) of
the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, as amended (23 U.S.C. 142nt).
4. In 49 CFR part 27, Sec. 27.72 is proposed to be revised to read
as follows:
Sec. 27.72 Boarding assistance for small aircraft.
(a) Paragraphs (b)-(e) of this section apply to airports with
10,000 or more annual enplanements.
(b) Airports shall, in cooperation with carriers serving the
airports, provide boarding assistance to individuals with disabilities
using mechanical lifts, ramps, or other devices that do not require
employees to lift or carry passengers up stairs. Paragraph (c) of this
section applies to aircraft with a seating capacity of 19-30
passengers. Paragraph (d) of this section applies to aircraft with a
seating capacity of 31 or more passengers.
[[Page 46613]]
(c) (1) Each airport operator shall negotiate in good faith with
each carrier serving the airport concerning the acquisition and use of
boarding assistance devices for aircraft with a seating capacity of 19-
30 passengers. The airport operator and the carrier(s) shall, by no
later than September 2, 1997, sign a written agreement allocating
responsibility for meeting the boarding assistance requirements of this
section between or among the parties. The agreement shall be made
available, on request, to representatives of the Department of
Transportation.
(2) The agreement shall provide that all actions necessary to
ensure accessible boarding for passengers with disabilities are
completed as soon as practicable, but no later than December 2, 1998,
at large and medium commercial service hub airports (those with
1,200,000 or more annual enplanements); December 2, 1999, for small
commercial service hub airports (those with between 250,000 and
1,199,999 annual enplanements); or December 2, 2000, for non-hub
commercial service primary airports (those with between 10,000 and
249,999 annual enplanements) . All air carriers and airport operators
involved are jointly responsible for the timely and complete
implementation of the agreement.
(3) Boarding assistance under the agreement is not required in the
following situations:
(i) Access to aircraft with a capacity of fewer than 19 or more
than 30 seats;
(ii) Access to float planes;
(iii) Access to the following 19-seat capacity aircraft models: the
Fairchild Metro, the Jetstream 31, and the Beech 1900 (C and D models);
(iv) Access to any other 19-seat aircraft model determined by the
Department of Transportation to be unsuitable for boarding assistance
by lift on the basis of a significant risk of serious damage to the
aircraft or the presence of internal barriers that preclude passengers
who use a boarding or aisle chair to reach a non-exit row seat.
(4) When boarding assistance is not required to be provided under
paragraph (c)(4) of this section, or cannot be provided as required by
paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section for reasons beyond the control
of the parties to the agreement (e.g., because of mechanical problems
with a lift), boarding assistance shall be provided by any available
means to which the passenger consents, except hand-carrying as defined
in 14 CFR 382.39(a)(2).
(5) The agreement shall ensure that all lifts and other
accessibility equipment are maintained in proper working condition.
(d)(1) Each airport operator shall negotiate in good faith with
each carrier serving the airport concerning the acquisition and use of
boarding assistance devices for aircraft with a seating capacity of 31
or more passengers. The airport operator and the carrier(s) shall, by
no later than (a date nine months from the effective date of this
section), sign a written agreement allocating responsibility for
meeting the boarding assistance requirements of this section between or
among the parties. The agreement shall be made available, on request,
to representatives of the Department of Transportation.
(2) The agreement shall provide that all actions necessary to
ensure accessible boarding for passengers with disabilities are
completed as soon as practicable, but no later than (a date 18 months
from the effective date of this section). All air carriers and airport
operators involved are jointly responsible for the timely and complete
implementation of the agreement.
(3) When boarding assistance cannot be provided as required by this
paragraph for reasons beyond the control of the parties to the
agreement (e.g., because of mechanical problems with a lift), boarding
assistance shall be provided by any available means to which the
passenger consents, except hand-carrying as defined in 14 CFR
382.39(a)(2).
(4) The agreement shall ensure that all lifts and other
accessibility equipment are maintained in proper working condition.
(e) In the event that airport personnel are involved in providing
boarding assistance, the airport shall ensure that they are trained to
proficiency in the use of the boarding assistance equipment used at the
airport and appropriate boarding assistance procedures that safeguard
the safety and dignity of passengers.
[FR Doc. 99-22210 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
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