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Airport Security for P.W.D.
Steps Taken to Ensure New Security Requirements
Preserve and Respect the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities
This message was e-mailed to large airlines,
aviation associations, and the
National Council on Disability. It concerns the aftermath
of the attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and the Department of Transportation's
implementing rules prohibit discriminatory treatment of persons
with
disabilities in air transportation. Since the terrorist hijackings
and
tragic events of September 11, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) has
issued directives to strengthen security measures at airline
checkpoints and
passenger screening locations. In securing our national air
transportation
system, where much of FAA's efforts have been directed to
date, steps were
also taken to ensure that the new security procedures preserve
and respect
the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. This Fact
Sheet provides
information about the accessibility requirements in air travel
in light of
strengthened security measures by providing a few examples
of the types of
accommodations and services that must be provided to passengers
with
disabilities. The examples listed below are not all-inclusive
and are
simply meant to provide answers to frequently asked questions
since
September 11 concerning the air travel of people with disabilities.
Check-In
Air carriers must provide meet-and-assist
service (e.g., assistance to gate or aircraft) at drop-off
points. The lack of curbside check-in, for certain airlines
at some airports, has not changed the requirement for meet-and-assist
service at drop-off points.
Screener Checkpoints
Individuals assisting passengers
with disabilities are allowed beyond the screener checkpoints.
These individuals may be required to present themselves at
the airlines' check-in desk and receive a "pass"
allowing them to go through the screener checkpoint without
a ticket.
Ticketed passengers with their own oxygen for use on the ground
are
allowed beyond the screener checkpoints with their oxygen
canisters once the
canisters have been thoroughly inspected. If there is a request
for oxygen
at the gate for a qualified passenger with a disability, commercial
oxygen
providers are allowed beyond the screener checkpoints with
oxygen canisters
once the canisters have been thoroughly inspected. Commercial
oxygen
providers may be required to present themselves at the airlines'
check-in
desk and receive a "pass" allowing them to go through
the screener
checkpoint without a ticket.
The limit of one carry-on bag and one personal bag (e.g.,
purse or
briefcase) for each traveler does not apply to medical supplies
and/or
assistive devices. Passengers with disabilities generally
may carry medical
equipment, medications, and assistive devices on board the
aircraft.
All persons allowed beyond the screener
checkpoints may be searched. This
will usually be done through the use of a hand-held metal
detector, whenever
possible. Passengers may also be patted down during security
screenings,
and this is even more likely if the passenger uses a wheelchair
and is
unable to stand up. Private screenings remain an option for
persons in
wheelchairs.
Service animals, once inspected to ensure
prohibited items are not
concealed, are permitted on board an aircraft. Any backpack
or sidepack
that is carried on the animal will be manually inspected or
put through the
X-ray machines. The service animal's halter may also be removed
for
inspection.
Assistive devices such as walking canes,
once inspected to ensure
prohibited items are not concealed, are permitted on board
an aircraft.
Assistive devices such as augmentative communication devices
and Braille 'N
Speaks will go through the same sort of security screening
process as used
for personal computers.
Syringes are permitted on board an aircraft
once it is determined that the
person has a documented medical need for the syringe.
For an update about traveling with diabetes
supplies and equipment (publication date: 2001-10-29), please
visit the American Diabetes Association Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp
Personal wheelchairs and battery-powered
scooters may still be used to
reach departure gates after they are inspected to ensure that
they do not
present a security risk. Any backpack or sidepack that is
carried on the
wheelchair will be manually inspected or put through the X-ray
machines.
Personal wheelchairs will still be allowed
to be stowed on board an
aircraft.
Air carriers must ensure that qualified
individuals with a disability,
including those with vision or hearing impairments, have timely
access to
information, such as new security measures, the carriers provide
to other
passengers. For example, on flights to Reagan Washington National
Airport,
persons are verbally warned to use the restrooms more than
half an hour
before arrival since after that point in time passengers are
required to
remain in their seats. Alternative formats are necessary to
ensure that
all passengers, especially deaf persons, understand new security
measures
such as the one at Reagan Washington National.
We hope this information is helpful to you.
Members of the public who feel they have been the subject
of discriminatory actions or treatment by air carriers may
file a complaint by sending an email, a letter, or a completed
complaint form to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division
(ACPD). ACPD's e-mail address is airconsumer@ost.dot.gov
and its mailing address is: Aviation Consumer Protection Division,
U.S. Department of Transportation, Room 4107, C-75, Washington,
DC 20590. Complaint forms are available at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/problems.htm
Issued on 10/29/01 by the Office of the
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings
and its Aviation Consumer Protection Division
New Horizons: Information
for the Air Traveler with a Disability from the Aviation Consumer
Protection Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/horizons.htm
"Passengers
with Disabilities", a summary of the Air Carrier Access
Act from the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/disabled.htm
The Air Carrier
Access Act: Make It Work For You, a 7-page PDF document from
the Paralyzed Veterans of America
http://www.pva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pubs_main
U.S. DOT's toll-free
hotline to assist air travelers with disabilities
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/hotline.htm
Source: http://www.nod.org
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