14 CFR Parts 382 and 399; 49 CFR Part 27 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports - Preamble

Automated Airport Kiosk Definition and Applicability Based on Function/Location

The SNPRM: The ownership of automated kiosks varies from airport to airport. In some airports, automated kiosks are airline proprietary equipment (i.e., owned, leased, or controlled by each individual airline). In other airports, kiosk ownership is shared jointly by the airport operator and airlines serving the airport and are often referred to as common use self-service (CUSS) machines. In the September 2011 SNPRM, the Department proposed to define an airline-owned automated airport kiosk covered by this rule as “a self-service transaction machine that a carrier owns, leases, or controls and makes available at a U.S. airport to enable customers to independently obtain flight-related services.” For CUSS machines, we proposed the term “shared-use automated airport kiosk” defined as “a self-service transaction machine provided by an airport, a carrier, or an independent service provider with which any carrier having a compliant data set can collaborate to enable its customers to independently access the flight-related services it offers.” We proposed to apply the accessibility design specifications to all proprietary and shared-use automated kiosks that provide flight-related services (including, but not limited to, ticket purchase, rebooking cancelled flights, seat selection, and obtaining boarding passes or bag tags) to customers at U.S. airports with 10,000 or more enplanements per year. We asked in the preamble whether we had adequately described automated airport kiosks in the rule text.

Comments: In their joint request of October 7, 2011, to clarify the scope of the proposed requirement, A4A, IATA, the Air Carrier Association of America, and RAA asked the Department whether automated ticket scanners for rebooking flights during irregular operations were included in the definition of automated kiosks we intended to cover in the rulemaking. After our clarification notice of November 21, 2011, addressing ticket scanners, ITI sought further clarification of how accessibility requirements apply to kiosks based on their functionality and location at the airport (e.g., check-in or baggage tagging kiosks located near the ticket counter, boarding or rebooking kiosks near the gate areas). The Trace Center commented that check-in and other kiosks at airports such as ticket scanners for rebooking, self-tagging baggage kiosks, etc. should all be covered. They emphasized that no exceptions should be made for particular types of airport kiosks, but if needed due to technology shortcomings, should only apply to a particular kiosk functions, not to an entire kiosk or category of kiosks. The Trace Center also suggested that any exceptions based on function should be reviewed every five years in light of advances in technology.

DOT Decision: In our notice of November 21, 2011, the Department clarified our position that a kiosk that allows passengers to rebook their flights independently provides a flight-related service and therefore is within the intended scope of the proposed rule. Although following the notice we received additional comments suggesting that certain types of automated airport kiosks be excluded from coverage based on function or location at the airport, the Department finds no reasonable basis for such exclusions. Despite the trend toward fewer consumers using an airport kiosk than a home computer or Smartphone to check in and download their boarding passes, we expect airlines to continue expanding the menu of new flight-related services available on kiosks at various locations throughout the airport (e.g., rebooking, ticketing, and flight information). It continues to be the Department's intention that all flight-related services offered to passengers through airport kiosks in any location at the airport be accessible to passengers with disabilities. Therefore, the accessibility requirements will apply to all new automated airport kiosks and shared-use automated airport kiosks installed more than three years after the effective date of this rule until at least 25 percent of automated kiosks in each location at the airport are accessible. By “location at the airport” we mean every place at a U.S. airport where there is a cluster of kiosks or a stand-alone kiosk (e.g., in a location where five kiosks are situated in close proximity to one another, such as near a ticket counter, at least two of those kiosks must be accessible; in all locations where a single kiosk is provided which is not in close proximity to another kiosk, the single kiosk must be accessible). When the kiosks provided in a location at the airport perform more than one function (e.g., print boarding passes/bag tags, accept payment for flight amenities such as seating upgrades/meals/WiFi access, rebook tickets, etc.), the accessible kiosks must also provide all the same functions as the inaccessible kiosks. (See section below on Implementation Approach and Schedule.)