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)

382.29 May a carrier require a passenger with a disability to travel with a safety assistant? The terminology of this section has been changed from “attendant” to “safety assistant” to more accurately reflect the role of the person accompanying the passenger. A safety assistant is not a personal care attendant who looks after the personal care needs of a passenger. A carrier cannot require a personal care attendant to travel with a passenger with a disability. Rather, the safety assistant is someone who would assist the passenger to exit the aircraft in case of an emergency evacuation or to establish communication with carrier personnel for purposes of the required safety briefing. People like passenger volunteers, an individual selected by the passenger, or deadheading crew members remain appropriate candidates to act as safety assistants.

This section generally follows the model of the corresponding section of the existing regulation. However, with respect to the situation of a passenger with a severe mobility impairment, the criterion for permitting the carrier to require a safety assistant has been clarified to address circumstances where the passenger is unable to physically assist in his or her own evacuation. This change is made to avoid potential confusion that a passenger could assist in his or her own evacuation simply by calling for help.

The “Response to Comments” section of the preamble describes in greater detail other changes, including a new advance notice requirement, that would apply to passengers who have both severe vision and hearing impairments. In section 382.29(b)(4), it is mentioned that a passenger with both severe hearing and vision impairments is responsible for explaining how he or she can establish communication adequate to permit transmission of the safety briefing and to enable the passenger to assist in his or her own evacuation of the aircraft in the event of an emergency. The new 48-hours’ advance notice requirement is intended to give the carrier time to make any arrangements necessary to accommodate the passenger following this explanation. The language in section 382.29(b)(4) concerning the ability of a passenger to assist in his or her own evacuation refers to being able to establish, at or around the time of the safety briefing, a means by which the passenger can receive a instructions concerning an emergency evacuation. For example, the passenger and air carrier could arrange a hand or touch signal that the passenger knows means “get up and follow passengers to an emergency exit.”

When a passenger with a disability cannot travel on a flight because there is no seat available for a safety assistant that the carrier has determined to be necessary, the passenger must be compensated in an amount to be calculated under the Department’s denied boarding compensation (DBC) rule, 14 CFR Part 250, where Part 250 applies. The DBC rule applies to both U.S. and foreign carriers with respect to domestic and international scheduled-service nonstop flight segments departing from a U.S. airport. It does not apply to flights departing from a foreign airport, whether operated by a U.S. or foreign carrier.