UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF AVIATION ENFORCEMENT AND PROCEEDINGS
WASHINGTON, DC

This letter is being sent to U.S. Major and National air carriers, air transport organizations, and certain disability organizations. It concerns the Department of Transportation’s rule on air travel by passengers with disabilities. I would appreciate it if you would direct this letter to the individual in your organization who deals with such issues.

On November 1, 1996, the Department published amendments to its rules on air travel by passengers with disabilities. These amendments deal with accessibility of aircraft with 19 through 30 seats, accessibility of airport facilities, and transportation of persons believed to have a communicable disease. I have enclosed two versions of an updated copy of the air carrier rule, 14 CFR Part 382. The shorter one is the rule itself; the longer one contains the rule as well as the preambles to the original 1990 rule and to the 1996 amendments. These copies are unstapled and one-side-only to facilitate further reproduction.

Pursuant to §382.45(d), all air carriers must have a copy of Part 382 at each airport that the carrier serves and must make it available for inspection by persons with disabilities upon request. Since the pre-November version of the rule has been superseded by the rule as revised in November, carriers must ensure that the current version of Part 382 is available at all airports. For this purpose, the short “rule only” version (enclosed) is satisfactory. However, it would not be acceptable to simply distribute the November amendments for use in conjunction with the pre-November rule. The current rule with the November amendments incorporated must be available at airports.

The enclosed documents will be available for download shortly on the Department’s web site: http://www.dot.gov/ost/docr/AIRACCES.HTM. In addition, upon request we will be happy to furnish an electronic version of these documents to you via diskette or e-mail in word processor or ASCII text format.

We would appreciate it if the air carriers receiving this letter would send a copy of the letter and enclosures to their U.S.-carrier code-sharing partners and to any low-cost or shuttle subsidiary. (As indicated above we are sending this letter to all U.S. Majors and Nationals, so you do not need to forward a copy to any carriers in that group.) Please note that most of the provisions of Part 382 apply to charter flights and to small-aircraft commercial service; the rule is not limited to scheduled-service jet operations.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely, 
 
Hoyte B. Decker, Jr.
Assistant Director for
Aviation Consumer Protection, C-75
Office of Aviation Enforcement
and Proceedings

Enclosures

This letter is being sent to U.S. Major and National air carriers, air transport organizations, and certain disability organizations. On May 23, 1997, we sent you a revised edition of the Department of Transportation’s rule on air travel by passengers with disabilities, 14 CFR Part 382. This edition of the rule incorporated amendments that were issued in November 1996 concerning accessibility of aircraft with 19 through 30 seats, accessibility of airport facilities, and transportation of persons believed to have a communicable disease. We enclosed two versions of the rule; the shorter one was the rule itself; the longer one contained the rule as well as the preambles to the original 1990 rule and to the 1996 amendments.

We have discovered that sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 382.49 (Security screening of passengers) were inadvertently omitted from both the long and short versions of this new edition of the rule. Section 382.49 was not affected by the November 1996 amendments, and should not have changed. We are enclosing the following corrected materials:

(1) A complete, corrected copy of the short “rule only” version (11 pages).

(2) For the longer version (77 pages):

(a) New pages 8 through 11, which contain the corrected text. Only two paragraphs were added, but it was necessary to go through page 11 to harmonize the new page breaks with the rest of the document. These five pages can be substituted for the old pages 8 through 11.

(b) A correction sheet that can be slipped into the long version at page 8; the correction sheet contains the corrected text for the entire section 382.49. You may want to use this correction sheet in lieu of the corrected pages 8 through 11 if you have already reproduced the long version of the rule.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience that this has caused. If you would like to receive either of these documents in electronic form or if you have any questions, please call me at (202) 366-5952.

Sincerely, 
  
Timothy J. Kelly
Industry Analyst
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
Office of the General Counsel

Enclosures

Sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 382.49 were inadvertently omitted from this copy of the rule. The complete section 382.49 reads as follows:

§ 382.49 Security screening of passengers.

(a) Qualified individuals with a disability shall undergo security screening in the same manner, and be subject to the same security requirements, as other passengers. Possession by a qualified individual with a disability of an aid used for independent travel shall not subject the person or the aid to special screening procedures if the person using the aid clears the security system without activating it. Provided, That this paragraph shall not prohibit security personnel from examining a mobility aid or assistive device which, in their judgment, may conceal a weapon or other prohibited item. Security searches of qualified individuals with a disability whose aids activate the security system shall be conducted in the same manner as for other passengers. Private security screenings shall not be required for qualified individuals with a disability to a greater extent, or for any different reason, than for other passengers.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, if a qualified individual with a disability requests a private screening in a timely manner, the carrier shall provide it in time for the passenger to enplane.

(c) If a carrier employs technology that can conduct an appropriate screening of a passenger with a disability without necessitating a physical search of the person, the carrier is not required to provide a private screening.

Addressees for both letters:

Ms. Valerie Svilarich Director, Consumer Affairs Alaska Airlines Box 68900 Seattle, WA 98168	Ms. Michele Rock Manager-Customer Relations America West Airlines 4000 East Sky Harbor Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85034
Ms. MaryAnne McCabe Managing Director, Consumer Relations American Airlines, Inc. M.D. 2400 P.O. Box 619612 DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612	Ms. Judy Mensinger Director, Customer Care Continental Airlines, Inc. 3663 North Sam Houston Pkwy, Suite 500 Houston, TX 77032
Ms. Patricia J. Robinette Director of Consumer Affairs Delta Air Lines Hartsfield Int’l Airport Atlanta, GA 30320	Ms. Cindy Scheer Director, Customer Relations Northwest Airlines 5101 Northwest Drive Dept. C5270 St. Paul, MN 55111
Mr. Jim Ruppel Director, Customer Relations Southwest Airlines P.O. Box 33647 Love Field Dallas, TX 75235	Ms. Susan Yancey Mgr./Corp. Comm. Southwest Airlines 2702 Love Field Drive Dallas, TX 75235
Ms. Susan Ahl Staff VP/ Customer Relations Trans World Airlines, Inc. 1415 Olive Street Suite 100 St. Louis, MO 63103	Ms. Denise Harvill Director, Customer Relations United Airlines P.O. Box 66100 Chicago, IL 60666
Ms. Deborah Thompson Director, Consumer Affairs US Airways P.O. Box 1501 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1501	Mr. Martin Goldman C.E.O. Air Transport International 3800 Rodney Parham Road Little Rock, AR 72212
Hermn Bethel Managing Director, Customer Service Air Wisconsin Corp. W6390 Challenger Drive Suite 203 Appleton, WI 54915	Ms. Denise Yates Customer Relations Manager Aloha Airlines, Inc. P.O. Box 30029 Honolulu, HI 96820
Mr. Ellis Fawcett Manager, Customer Services American Trans Air 7337 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46231	Mr. Samuel Watts V.P., Sales & Customer Service Atlantic Southeast Airlines 100 Hartsfield Center Parkway Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30354
Mr. Bill Reynolds Director, Customer Service Business Express 14 Aviation Ave. Portsmouth, NH 03801	Ms. Claire Malkin Mgr., Consumer Affairs Carnival Air Lines P.O. Box 9013 Dania, FL 33004
Ms. Jane Steed Admin. Assistant Continental Micronesia Old Terminal Bldg. P.O. Box 8778-G Tamuning, GU 96931-8778	Mr. Thomas Del Valle President Executive Airlines P.O. Box 38082 Luis Muñoz Marin Int’l Airport Carolina, PR 00979
Ms. Nancy White Mgr., Customer Relations Frontier Airlines 12015 East 46th Ave. Denver, CO 80239	Ms. Crystal Ching Manager, Consumer Affairs Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. P.O. Box 30008 Honolulu, HI 96820
Ms. Sue Warner-Bean Manager, Customer Relations Horizon Air P.O. Box 48309 Seattle, WA 98148	Mr. Jerry Murphy President & C.E.O. Kiwi International Airlines Hemisphere Center U.S. 1 and 9 South Newark, NJ 07114
Mr. Dennis Barry V.P., Customer Service Mesa Airlines 1140 W. Navajo Farmington, NM 87401	Mr. David H. Thomas Manager - Scheduling Midway Airlines 300 West Morgan Street Suite 1200 Durham, NC 27701
Ms. Christine Baranoucky Schedule Coordinator Midwest Express Airlines 6744 South Howell Avenue HQ 23 Oak Creek, WI 53154-1402	Ms. Brenda Rowan Legal Assistant Reno Air, Inc. P.O. Box 30059 Reno, NV 89520--3059
Mr. Ralph Richardi President Simmons Airlines P.O. Box 612527 1700 W. 20th Street Dalls/Ft. Worth Airport, TX 75261	Mr. J Baggar Operations Manager Sky Courier 1851 Alexander Bell Dr. Reston, VA 22091
Ms. Karen Erazo Mgr.-Legal Affairs Sun Country Airlines 2520 Pilot Knob Rd. Mendota Heights, MN 55120	Ms. Pat Crimmins Director, Customer Service Sun Jet 4700 140th Ave. North Suite 106 Clearwater, FL 34622
Ms. Pamela Buoncontri Assistant to the Chairman Tower Air JFK International Airport Hangar 17 Jamaica, NY 11430	Mr. William R. Mishk Vice President, Marketing Trans States Airlines 9275 Genaire Drive St. Louis, MO 63134
Mr. Tommy Kalil Senior VP, Customer Service/Operations Valujet Airlines 1800 Phoenix Blvd. Suite 126 Atlanta, GA 30349-5555	Ms. Carol Goettsche Manager, Consumer Affairs Western Pacific Airlines 2864 South Circle Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Mr. Chuck Pollard President & C.E.O. World Airways 13873 Park Center Road Suite 490 Herndon, VA 22071	Mr. Mark Creech Mgr., Customer Relations Air South P.O. Box 11129 Columbia, SC 29211
Mr. David Berg Air Transport Association 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20004-1707	Mr. Walt Coleman President Regional Airline Assoc. 1200 19th St. N.W., Suite 300 Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036-2422
Mr. Edward Driscoll President & C.E.O. National Air Carrier Association 1730 M Street, N.W. Suite 806 Washington, DC 20036	Mr. Ed Faberman Executive Director Air Carrier Association of America 1747 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. Suite 900 Washington, DC 20006
Mr. Ray Greenly VP, Consumer Affairs American Society of Travel Agents 1101 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314	Mr. David Plavin President Airports Council International 1775 K Street N.W. Suite 500 Washington, DC 20006
Mr. Charles Barclay President American Association of Airport Executives 4212 King Street Alexandria, VA 22302	Shawn McDermott Project Coordinator Paralyzed Veterans of America 801 18th Street NW Washington, DC 20006
Mr. David Capozzi Director, Office of Tech. & Info. Svcs. A.T.B.C.B. 1331 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004-1107