Under the proposed rule, airlines would be required to ensure that at least one toilet on new narrow-body aircraft with 125 seats or more is large enough for a passenger with a disability to access with an assistant if needed and exit. from the toilet on the aircraft’s onboard wheelchair.
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“Too often, travelers with disabilities are unable to fly to their destination because they cannot access restrooms on most planes,” Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg said in a statement accompanying Friday’s announcement. “This rule would make aircraft restrooms more accessible to passengers with disabilities and bring us one step closer to the day when air travel is accessible to all.”
As part of the rulemaking process, the department is also seeking to expedite the timeline for the rule to go into effect. Under an agreement reached in 2016, the proposed rule would apply to aircraft ordered 18 years after the effective date of the final rule or delivered 20 years after the effective date of the final rule. However, the department wants to comment on whether the improvements can be implemented faster than suggested.
“America’s paralyzed veterans have been waiting for access to toilets on narrow-body aircraft for people with disabilities since the passage of the Air Carrier Access Act nearly 36 years ago,” the organization’s national president, Charles Brown, said in another statement accompanying the announcement. . “We cannot stress enough the importance of decent toilet access to our physical health and well-being, and we need to get toilet access as soon as possible.”
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In 2018, the organization filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to force the government to restart efforts to make toilets on narrow-body aircraft accessible to people with disabilities.
Airplanes, unlike other forms of transportation, are not subject to the accessibility rules set out in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Instead, the industry follows the rules specified in the Air Carrier Access Act, which was passed by Congress in 1986.
The law requires wide-body aircraft to be equipped with accessible bathrooms, but does not require such accommodations for narrow-body aircraft such as the Boeing 737, one of the most widely used commercial jetliners.
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The push for more affordable bathrooms comes at a time when personal space on planes is shrinking. Toilets on some new Boeing 737 models are now 24 inches wide, making room for six extra seats. Many airlines are also retrofitting older aircraft with smaller toilets in the hope of maximizing profits.