Rule2025-10250
Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
This document announces that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will not take enforcement action against regulated entities before August 1, 2025, for failing to comply with the new or revised requirements contained in the final rule on "Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs" (Wheelchair Rule). This enforcement discretion does not apply to violations of DOT's regulations regarding the treatment of air travelers with disabilities that would also have been violations prior to the issuance of the Wheelchair Rule.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 110 (Tuesday, June 10, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 10, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24319-24320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10250]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
14 CFR Part 382
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2022-0144]
RIN 2105-AF14
Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities
Using Wheelchairs
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), U.S.
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notification of enforcement discretion.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document announces that the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) will not take enforcement action against regulated
entities before August 1, 2025, for failing to comply with the new or
revised requirements contained in the final rule on ``Ensuring Safe
[[Page 24320]]
Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs''
(Wheelchair Rule). This enforcement discretion does not apply to
violations of DOT's regulations regarding the treatment of air
travelers with disabilities that would also have been violations prior
to the issuance of the Wheelchair Rule.
DATES: As of June 10, 2025, enforcement of the amendments enacted in
the final rule published December 17, 2024, at 89 FR 102398, is delayed
until August 1, 2025.
ADDRESSES: This notification of enforcement discretion, the notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM), all comments received, the final rule, and
all background material may be viewed online at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>
using the docket number listed above. Electronic retrieval help and
guidelines are available on the website. It is available 24 hours each
day, 365 days each year. An electronic copy of this document may also
be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's website at
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a> and the Government Publishing Office's website
at <a href="http://www.GovInfo.gov">www.GovInfo.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tori Ford, Vinh Nguyen, Robert Gorman,
or Blane Workie, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC
20590, 202-366-9342 (phone), 202-366-7152 (fax), <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6c0dfd5c2d9c4dfd798d0d9c4d2f6d2d9c298d1d9c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4b3d22283f2439222a652d24392f0b2f243f652c243d">[email protected]</span></a>,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a7d1cec9cf89c9c0d2dec2c9e7c3c8d389c0c8d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1c7d8dfd99fdfd6c4c8d4dff1d5dec59fd6dec7">[email protected]</span></a>, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#52203d303720267c353d203f333c12363d267c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="97e5f8f5f2e5e3b9f0f8e5faf6f9d7f3f8e3b9f0f8e1">[email protected]</span></a>, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bddfd1dcd3d893cad2cfd6d4d8fdd9d2c993dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ec8e808d8289c29b839e878589ac888398c28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>
(email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 17, 2024, DOT issued a final
rule on ``Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With
Disabilities Using Wheelchairs'' (Wheelchair Rule). See 89 FR 102398.
The final rule, which included certain provisions required by the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024 (2024 FAA Act),\1\ expanded existing
airline obligations in 14 CFR part 382 regarding the treatment of air
travelers with disabilities. More specifically, the final rule
established new requirements in various areas such as training for
airline personnel and contractors, assistance to passengers who use
wheelchairs in embarking and disembarking from aircraft and moving
within the terminal, and airlines' obligation should wheelchairs or
scooters be mishandled. The final rule became effective on January 16,
2025; however, individual requirements in the final rule have varying
implementation times, ranging from January 16, 2025, to June 17, 2026,
for training requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, Public Law 118-63 (May
16, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOT previously announced that it would exercise its enforcement
discretion and not enforce the Wheelchair Rule until March 20, 2025.
See 90 FR 9953 (Feb. 20, 2025). DOT is now providing notice that it
will continue to exercise its enforcement discretion and not enforce
the Wheelchair Rule before August 1, 2025, to allow additional time for
the officials appointed or designated by the President to review the
Wheelchair Rule to ensure that it is consistent with the law, including
the requirements of the 2024 FAA Act, and Administration policies, and
to consider the issues raised by a lawsuit filed recently to challenge
certain provisions of the Wheelchair Rule.\2\ This notification of
enforcement discretion pertains only to the new or revised requirements
imposed by the Wheelchair Rule. It does not apply to violations of 14
CFR part 382 that would also have been violations prior to the issuance
of the Wheelchair Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Airlines for America, et al. v. Dep't of Transp., No. 25-
60071 (5th Cir.).
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.27(a):
Gregory D. Cote,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-10250 Filed 6-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 10, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.