14 CFR Part 382 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel (Air Carrier Access Act): Preamble and Section-by-Section Analysis (with amendments issued through July 2010)

382.123 What are the requirements concerning priority cabin stowage for wheelchairs and other assistive devices? This section is related to the requirements for priority stowage spaces in section 382.67 and an opportunity to preboard in section 382.93. A passenger who takes advantage of the offer to preboard can stow his or her wheelchair in the aircraft’s priority stowage area, with priority over other passengers’ items brought onto the aircraft at the same airport, consistent with applicable safety and security regulatory requirements. The passenger’s wheelchair also takes priority over items that may be stowed in the space by the carrier and its personnel, such as on-board wheelchairs or crew luggage, even if these items came on board at an earlier stop of the plane’s itinerary. If such items are in the space when a wheelchair user comes on board, they must be moved to accommodate the passenger’s wheelchair. Carriers must also offer this opportunity for other assistive devices, though wheelchairs retain priority. Passengers with wheelchairs or other assistive devices who do not preboard must still be allowed to use the priority stowage areas for their devices, but their use of the space is on a first-come-first-served basis with respect to other passengers’ items.

Some U.S. carriers have used the so-called “seat-strapping” method of securing passengers’ wheelchairs in the cabin, usually in situations in which, contrary to the existing rule in some cases, aircraft did not have closets or other spaces capable of accommodating the wheelchairs. The Department does not believe that this is a good long-term approach to carrying passenger wheelchairs in the cabin, especially in these times of frequently full flights. The Department emphasizes that providing priority stowage spaces as required by section 382.67 is essential. To limit the ability of carriers to use the seat-strapping method as a way of getting around the designated priority stowage requirement, carriers may not use the seat-strapping method in any aircraft ordered after the effective date of this Part or delivered more than two years after the rule’s effective date.