At Issue: Treatment of Passengers With Disabilities

The US Department of Transportation last week announced the issuance of an order reflecting a settlement with Ryan International Airlines regarding the carrier's treatment of air travelers with disabilities.

The order finds that Ryan violated the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and federal regulations in a number of respects, such as by denying transportation to a passenger with a disability and failing to provide required wheelchair service.   The order, which reflects the first ACAA enforcement settlement involving a charter airline, also assesses a civil penalty of $400,000 against the carrier.

According to the terms of the settlement, the carrier is ordered to cease and desist from future violations of the ACAA and DOT's rules prohibiting discrimination against passengers with disabilities.  Of the assessed civil penalty, the carrier may use $355,000 to improve services to persons with disabilities above what is required by DOT rules.

"During my years in Congress I co-authored the Americans with Disabilities Act and played a major role in the enactment of the ACAA, and I believe today as I believed then that accessibility in transportation is a civil right," Secretary Mineta said.  

"DOT will continue its effort to ensure that all Americans, including those with disabilities, are able to enjoy the mobility that our nation's transportation system offers." DOT's Office of Aviation Enforcement launched an investigation of Ryan's compliance with the ACAA rules after three passengers with disabilities filed informal wheelchair-related complaints regarding flights taken during late 2000. 

As part of its investigation, the Aviation Enforcement Office reviewed all wheelchair-related complaints filed with Ryan since April 2000 and found a significant number of serious violations by Ryan, including but not limited to a passenger being improperly denied transportation, a mobility-impaired passenger being stranded aboard an aircraft for approximately seven hours, mobility-impaired passengers being strapped to wooden office chairs with clothing belts and carried off the planes, and passengers being required to remove non-spillable batteries from their wheelchairs before being transported.  

In examining complaints filed with the carrier regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities, the Aviation Enforcement Office also found that Ryan failed to comply with the requirement for providing a proper written response to the complainant. According to the settlement, Ryan may offset part of the civil penalty by hiring and training a corporate complaint resolution official (CRO) to resolve complaints by passengers with disabilities, training Ryan pilots and station managers as CROs, training Ryan flight attendants and sales personnel regarding the ACAA and its implementing regulations, and purchasing additional wheelchairs for its aircraft and for use in ACAA training.

The department has previously issued enforcement consent orders against several other carriers for violations of the ACAA rules, which combined with today's actions are part of its ongoing effort to ensure nondiscrimination in air travel based on disability.

FMI: http://dms.dot.gov, docket OST-2003-14194