What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration to survey airline policies about lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids (devices that help people with disabilities move). Airlines cannot have rules about these devices that are stricter than federal safety standards. The bill aims to stop airlines from wrongly denying boarding to passengers with disabilities who use these types of wheelchairs and mobility aids.
Who It Affects
Airline passengers with disabilities who use lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs or mobility aids. All airlines operating in the United States. Foreign airlines that carry passengers to or from the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration (the federal agency that oversees aviation).
Key Provisions
• The Federal Aviation Administration must survey all airlines once per year to collect their policies on lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids, and determine if any policies are stricter than federal safety standards. (Sec. 3(a))
• The Federal Aviation Administration must report survey results to Congress and publish the information on the Department of Transportation website in an accessible format. (Sec. 3(b))
• Airlines with policies that either do not exist or are stricter than federal safety standards are considered noncompliant and must be notified. (Sec. 3(c))
• Airlines with noncompliant policies have 180 days to update them after receiving notification, or they face civil penalties. (Sec. 3(d))
• Airlines that update their policies must submit a report to the Federal Aviation Administration showing the updated policy. (Sec. 3(e))
What Changes
Airlines must ensure their lithium-ion wheelchair and mobility aid policies match federal safety standards and are not stricter. The Federal Aviation Administration will regularly check whether airlines follow this requirement. Airlines that do not comply face financial penalties. Passengers with disabilities will have a public list of airline policies available on the Department of Transportation website.
Important Definitions
The bill does not provide explicit definitions of key terms. "Lithium-ion batteries" are mentioned as lightweight batteries that extend a device's range between charges, but this is a finding, not a formal definition.
Effective Date
The Federal Aviation Administration must conduct the first survey no later than one year after this bill becomes law, then annually thereafter. Not specified in bill text when this bill becomes law.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1772
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent discrimination against
airline passengers with disabilities who use lithium-ion-powered wheel-
chairs and mobility aids that are safe for air travel, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 23, 2023
Ms. TITUS (for herself and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent discrimi-
nation against airline passengers with disabilities who
use lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids
that are safe for air travel, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Working to Help En-
4
sure Equity for Lithium-ion-powered Chairs on Airplanes
5
Act’’ or the ‘‘WHEELChairs on Airplanes Act’’.
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•HR 1772 IH
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
1
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
2
ings:
3
(1) In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed
4
the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–
5
435; 100 Stat. 1080), adding a provision now codi-
6
fied in section 41705 of title 49, United States
7
Code, prohibiting disability-based discrimination in
8
air transportation.
9
(2) Despite this effort, individuals with disabil-
10
ities continue to experience significant barriers to
11
and with traveling in air transportation.
12
(3) The Department of Transportation’s Airline
13
Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights specifies
14
that ‘‘airlines must accept a battery powered wheel-
15
chair, if it fits in the cargo compartment and can be
16
transported consistent with safety and security re-
17
quirements’’.
18
(4) Wheelchairs and other mobility aids pow-
19
ered by lithium-ion batteries are growing in preva-
20
lence, as lithium-ion batteries are light-weight and
21
can extend a device’s range between charges.
22
(5) Airline passengers with disabilities who
23
travel with lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs or mobil-
24
ity aids have been arbitrarily and erroneously denied
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•HR 1772 IH
boarding despite presenting documentation that
1
their devices meet all applicable safety standards.
2
(6) As the popularity of lithium-ion-powered
3
wheelchairs and mobility aids continues to increase,
4
so will the frequency of instances when airline pas-
5
sengers with disabilities are erroneously and arbi-
6
trarily denied boarding.
7
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
8
gress that an air carrier or foreign air carrier that denies
9
an airline passenger with a disability who use a lithium-
10
ion-powered wheelchair or mobility aid that meets all ap-
11
plicable safety standards for air travel should be consid-
12
ered to have violated such passenger’s rights under section
13
41705 of title 49, United States Code, and therefore, all
14
air carriers and foreign air carriers must maintain clear
15
policies pertaining to lithium-ion battery-powered wheel-
16
chairs and mobility aids that are no more restrictive than
17
all applicable safety standards.
18
SEC. 3. ANNUAL SURVEY OF AIR CARRIER AND FOREIGN
19
AIR CARRIER LITHIUM-ION BATTERY POLI-
20
CIES
FOR
WHEELCHAIRS
AND
MOBILITY
21
AIDS.
22
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of
23
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
24
end the following:
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•HR 1772 IH
‘‘§ 41727. Requirements for air carrier and foreign air
1
carrier lithium-ion battery policies for
2
wheelchairs and mobility aids
3
‘‘(a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year
4
after the date of enactment of the WHEELChairs on Air-
5
planes Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator of
6
the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a sur-
7
vey on all air carriers and foreign air carriers to—
8
‘‘(1) compile the policies regarding lithium-ion
9
battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids of
10
each air carrier and foreign air carrier; and
11
‘‘(2) determine whether any of the policies de-
12
scribed in paragraph (1) are more restrictive than
13
applicable standards in section 175.10 of title 49,
14
Code of Federal Regulations.
15
‘‘(b) REPORT AND PUBLICATION.—Upon completion
16
of each survey required under subsection (a), the Adminis-
17
trator shall—
18
‘‘(1) submit to the Committee on Transpor-
19
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent-
20
atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,
21
and Transportation of the Senate a report con-
22
taining such survey; and
23
‘‘(2) publish on the website of the Department
24
of Transportation in an accessible format the infor-
25
mation collected under subsection (a).
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•HR 1772 IH
‘‘(c) NONCOMPLIANT POLICIES.—An air carrier or
1
foreign air carrier is considered to have a noncompliant
2
policy if the Administrator determines, as part of the sur-
3
vey conducted under subsection (a), that such air carrier
4
or foreign air carrier—
5
‘‘(1) does not have a policy for lithium-ion-pow-
6
ered wheelchairs or mobility aids in effect; or
7
‘‘(2) has a policy for lithium-ion-powered wheel-
8
chairs or mobility aids in effect that is more restric-
9
tive than standards in section 175.10 of title 49,
10
Code of Federal Regulations.
11
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION; UPDATES.—For any noncompli-
12
ant policy under subsection (c), the Administrator—
13
‘‘(1) shall notify the air carrier or foreign air
14
carrier of the noncompliant status of the policy;
15
‘‘(2) shall require such air carrier or foreign air
16
carrier to update any such policy before the date
17
that is 180 days after the receipt of a notification
18
under paragraph (1); and
19
‘‘(3) shall assess a civil penalty under section
20
46301 for any policy of the air carrier or foreign air
21
carrier that remains noncompliant beginning on such
22
date.
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•HR 1772 IH
‘‘(e) REPORT ON COMPLIANT POLICY.—An air car-
1
rier or foreign air carrier that is required to update a non-
2
compliant policy under subsection (d)(2) shall—
3
‘‘(1) update such policy; and
4
‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator a report upon
5
completion of the update that contains the updated
6
policy.’’.
7
(b)
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
8
46301(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended
9
by inserting ‘‘section 41727,’’ before ‘‘chapter 441’’.
10
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
11
ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
12
inserting after the item relating to section 41726 the fol-
13
lowing:
14
‘‘41727. Requirements for air carrier and foreign air carrier lithium-ion battery
policies for wheelchairs and mobility aids.’’.
Æ
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