Air Carrier Access Act

State of Rhode Island

Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Executive Department/Established in 1977. Restructured in 1992.

Please note: ASL and Captioned Videos with more information are available below (under National Association of the Deaf on this page).

Aviation Consumer Protection Division:

The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled services for hire to the public. Requirements address a wide range of issues including boarding assistance and certain accessibility features in newly built aircraft and new or altered airport facilities. People may enforce rights under the Air Carrier Access Act by filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, or by bringing a lawsuit in Federal court. For more information or to file a complaint, contact:

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590

https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer

(202) 366-2220 (voice)
(202) 366-0511 (TTY)

(800) 778-4838 (voice)
(800) 455-9880 (TTY)

The sources are obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice’s A Guide to Disability Rights Laws

National Association of the Deaf:

YouTube Description: NAD provides information on how deaf and hard of hearing passengers can file complaints against airlines when they are not accommodated.

YouTube Video

The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) sets out requirements for disability access at airports and on airlines. Generally the ACAA rules:

prohibit U.S. and foreign airlines from discriminating against passengers on the basis of disability;
require airlines to make aircraft, other facilities, and services accessible; and require airlines to take steps to accommodate passengers with a disability.

This means airlines are responsible to make information and reservation services accessible (for example, providing a TTY at where you can call hotels/motels). Also if you let the airline know you are a deaf person, they are responsible to provide information directly to you in case of flight changes or announcements. Televisions in the airport also should have captioning turned on. For deaf-blind travelers, it is important to know that airlines require you to be able to establish a means of communication with airline personnel for safety purposes. If not, the airline may require you to travel with a safety assistant.

If you believe that an airline has discriminated against you in violation of the Air Carrier Access Act, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT publishes an on-line, easy to use complaint form at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm.

When you file a complaint, please let the NAD know, so we can see if we can provide assistance with your case.

Additional information:

(The sources are obtained from the National Association of the Deaf).