New Rule Result of Input From Airlines And The Disabled

The US Department of Transportation (DOT), in order to clarify the rights and obligations of passengers with disabilities who travel with service animals, today issued revised guidance on the transportation of these animals on airline aircraft.  The revisions were based on a joint proposal of the disability community and airline industry that was submitted to the department in late 2002.

Under the new guidelines adopted from the joint proposal, the definition of service animal has been clarified to specifically include emotional support animals.  In addition, the guidance classifies certain specific animals as dangerous and thereby permits their exclusion from the aircraft cabin.

In 1990, DOT issued regulations implementing the Air Carrier Access Act, which banned discrimination in air travel based on disability.  In those rules, the department required that air carriers permit guide dogs and other service animals used by persons with disabilities to accompany the person in flight.

New Rule Reflects New Capabilities For Disabled

Since the initial service animal guidance was published in November 1996, a wider variety of animals has been trained to assist individuals with disabilities. Whereas in the past most service animals were guide dogs, today persons with disabilities use other animals - such as cats and monkeys - as service animals. 

In addition, service animals assist people with their disabilities by performing a wider variety of functions, such as pulling a wheelchair or alerting a person with epilepsy that a seizure is imminent. Other animals provide emotional support for passengers with mental illnesses.  These more recent developments have sometimes made it difficult for airline employees to distinguish service animals from pets, and some pets are claimed to be service animals to get around legitimate airline restrictions on the carriage of pets.

Airline industry representatives and those from the disability community worked for over a year revising the department's existing guidance.  The principal aims of this effort were to prevent abuse of the service animal rules and to ensure that passengers with disabilities are not prohibited from boarding with their service animals.

FMI: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov