WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued new protections for people with disabilities in commercial air travel that will ensure that they can fly safely and with dignity.
The new rule requires that airlines meet more rigorous standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities, especially for passengers who use wheelchairs. The rule sets new standards for assistance, mandates hands-on training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers' wheelchairs, and specifies actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged or delayed during transport.
'Every passenger deserves safe, dignified travel when they fly-and we've taken unprecedented actions to hold airlines accountable when they do not provide fair treatment to passengers with disabilities,' said Secretary Buttigieg. 'With the new protections we're announcing today, we're establishing a new standard for air travel-with clear and thorough guidelines for airlines to ensure that passengers using wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.'
It is estimated that 5.5 million Americans use a wheelchair, and many encounter barriers when it comes to air travel. DOT data shows that for every 100 wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights at least one is damaged, delayed, or lost.
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