Page 1 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

May 31, 2017

The Honorable John Thune

Chairman

The Honorable Bill Nelson

Ranking Member

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

United States Senate

The Honorable Bill Shuster

Chairman

The Honorable Peter DeFazio

Ranking Member

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

House of Representatives

Passengers with Disabilities: Air Carriers’ Disability-Training Programs and the Department of 

Transportation’s Oversight 

According to the most recent census, 57 million Americans (roughly 1 in 5) have a disability, 

more than half of whom have mobility issues.1 Without effective accommodations—such as 

effective communication of flight information, accessible seats, appropriate boarding assistance, 

and careful handling and stowage of wheelchairs and other assistive devices—people with 

disabilities may face challenges when flying on a commercial air carrier.2 The original Air Carrier 

Access Act (ACAA), which was enacted in 1986, prohibited only U.S. air carriers from 

discriminating against individuals on the basis of disability in the provision of air transportation.

3

In 1990, the Department of Transportation (DOT) promulgated the ACAA’s implementing 

regulations.4 Among other things, these regulations require air carriers to provide disability 

training to their employees and contractor staff who deal with the traveling public. Additionally, 

the regulations require air carriers to respond to written disability-related complaints and to 

report annually to DOT all such complaints received during the prior calendar year. On April 5, 

2000, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Act for the 21st Century amended the ACAA 

specifically to include foreign carriers.5 The regulations have been amended a number of times. 

 1 U.S. Census Bureau, Americans with Disabilities, 2010.

2 In title 49 of the U.S. Code, “air carrier” refers to U.S. carriers only. 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(2). For purposes of this 

report, when we use the term “air carrier,” we are referring to both U.S. and foreign air carriers, unless we specifically 

state otherwise.

3 Pub. L. No. 99-453, 100 Stat. 1080 (Oct. 2, 1986); codified as amended at 49 U.S.C. § 41705. Air carriers are 

prohibited from discriminating against disabled individuals on the following grounds: (1) the individual has a physical 

or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) the individual has a record of such 

an impairment; and/or (3) the individual is regarded as having such impairment. 49 U.S.C. § 41705(a).

4 14 C.F.R. § 382.

5 Pub. L. No. 106-181, § 707, 114 Stat. 61, 158 (Apr. 5, 2000).
Page 2 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

In 2008, DOT amended the regulations to apply them to foreign air carriers for flights beginning 

or ending at a U.S. airport and aircraft used for these flights.6

Some disability rights advocates and other stakeholders have raised questions about air 

carriers’ compliance with the ACAA and its implementing regulations. In 2015, U.S. and foreign 

air carriers received more than 30,000 disability-related complaints, which they reported to 

DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, which is responsible for oversight and 

enforcement of air carriers’ compliance. To conduct this oversight, DOT receives and 

investigates complaints directly from passengers; reviews the annual complaint reports from air 

carriers; conducts onsite inspections of air carriers’ headquarters and air carrier operations at 

airports; and takes enforcement actions against air carriers when necessary (e.g., imposing 

fines and seeking corrective actions). 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 included 

a provision that we submit a report to Congress assessing required disability-training programs 

for air carriers’ and contractors’ personnel.7 This report discusses: 

• how selected air carriers’ disability-training programs vary, if at all, in addressing federal 

requirements, and 

• how DOT oversees air carriers’ compliance with the ACAA and what enforcement 

actions DOT has taken, including corrective actions sought, with regard to air carriers’ 

training programs, since 2005. 

On March 27 and March 30, 2017 we provided your offices with a briefing on the results of our 

review. This report formally transmits the briefing slides (see encl. I). Your office concurred that 

the briefing and the report meet Section 2107’s requirements for the Comptroller General to 

submit a report within 270 days of the enactment of this Act.8

To describe the variation in U.S and foreign air carriers’ disability-training programs, we 

examined the training programs of 12 air carriers that accounted for nearly 75 percent of 

passenger enplanements in 2015.

9 We included air carriers that represent a variety of types of 

carriers (four large network, two regional, two foreign, and four low cost) and that had the most 

passenger enplanements per category in 2015. We requested that air carriers provide us with 

sufficient documentation outlining their disability-training programs.

10 We reviewed these 

materials to identify similarities and differences in how carriers sought to address disabilitytraining requirements, such as training of employees and contractors who deal with the traveling 

 6 73 Fed. Reg. 27,614 (May 13, 2008) (amending 14 C.F.R. part 382).

7 Pub. L. No. 114-190, § 2107 130 Stat. 615, 622 (July 15, 2016).

8 We were required to report by April 11, 2017.

9 The following 12 air carriers were selected: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Airlines, 

Frontier Airlines, ExpressJet, JetBlue Airlines, Lufthansa Airways, SkyWest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit 

Airlines, and United Airlines. Passenger enplanements refer to the number of passengers who boarded a 

commercial carrier flight that departed from or arrived in the United States.

10 We did not visit each air carrier nor did we review all training materials but instead we asked each air carrier to 

submit outlines or summaries that described its disability-training regime. In some instances air carriers provided full 

manuals and some provided a course syllabus. We also did not assess air carriers’ compliance with their respective 

training programs (e.g., we did not assess whether covered personnel in fact took the training or did so with the 

required frequency).
Page 3 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

public regarding the awareness of different disabilities, training of complaint resolution officers 

(CRO), 11 and consultation with a disability organization in the development of their disabilitytraining programs. We also interviewed representatives of the 12 air carriers to discuss the 

content and format of their disability-training programs. We met with a representative from two 

companies that provide wheelchair assistance and other services to air carriers and with 

employees of these companies in Seattle and Washington, D.C., to discuss the scope of 

training provided to wheelchair assistants.12 We also conducted a literature review and 

reviewed air carrier websites to identify any services related to passengers with disabilities, 

such as special service requests or other accommodations that persons with disabilities may 

request. Finally, we met with five disability advocacy groups to gain their perspectives on air

carrier disability-training programs.13 We judgmentally selected these groups based on 

recommendations from stakeholder groups and our literature review.

To describe how DOT oversees and enforces air carrier compliance with the ACAA and DOT’s 

implementing regulations, we examined its oversight efforts from 2005 through 2017, including 

reviewing passenger complaint data submitted directly to DOT and directly to air carriers from 

2005 through 2015, and analyzing trends and patterns in that complaint data.

14 As required by 

law, air carriers annually submit to DOT a report summarizing the disability-related complaints 

received during the prior calendar year.15 We determined that the air carrier data were 

sufficiently reliable by reviewing related documentation and performing electronic testing of 

obvious errors in accuracy and completeness and that DOT data were sufficiently reliable by 

interviewing knowledgeable DOT officials and performing electronic testing of obvious errors in 

accuracy and completeness. In addition, we reviewed all 51 disability-related enforcement 

cases since 2005, of which we identified 13 as involving training-related corrective actions. We 

then reviewed these 13 enforcement cases to determine the origin of the enforcement action, 

the violation DOT found, and any airline-initiated or DOT-required training-related corrective 

actions. We also reviewed the process by which DOT verifies that air carriers implement the 

required corrective actions. In addition to analyzing complaint data and enforcement actions, we 

reviewed the process by which DOT conducted on-site and airport inspections of air carriers, 

their frequency, and the results of those inspections. Additionally, we interviewed DOT officials 

regarding their role in: (1) ensuring compliance with and enforcing the ACAA and its 

implementing regulations, (2) the analysis of complaint data to detect potential violations, and 

(3) the selection process for air carrier audits. We interviewed officials from FAA about their role 

at airports in regard to passengers with disabilities and officials from the Transportation Security 

Administration about training they provide to their screening employees related to passengers 

 11 U.S. air carriers (and foreign air carriers for airports serving flights beginning or ending in the U.S.) must make a 

CRO available at each airport, either in person or via telephone. If a customer alleges that an air carrier has violated 

the ACAA or its implementing regulations and requests access to a CRO, the CRO determines whether a violation 

has occurred. CROs must have the power to overrule the decision of any other personnel, except for safety based 

decisions made by the pilot-in-command of an aircraft. 14 C.F.R. §§ 382.151, 382.153. 

12 We selected these locations because of their proximity to GAO staff offices conducting this review.

13 These groups included the Disability Rights and Defense Fund, Food Allergy Research and Education, National 

Association for the Deaf, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the National Council on Disability. 

14 At the time of our review, the 2015 data were the most recently available. In general, passengers can submit 

written disability-related complaints directly to air carriers, and air carriers must respond to each complaint. 

Additionally or alternatively, passengers can submit formal or informal disability-related complaints directly to DOT, 

and DOT must investigate each one. 

15 14 C.F.R. § 382.157(d).
Page 4 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

with disabilities. We also conducted a literature review of ACAA-related studies to identify 

existing or potential challenges passengers with disabilities may encounter when traveling by 

air. Finally, we gathered views from the five selected disability groups concerning ACAA 

compliance and enforcement issues.

We conducted this performance audit from October 2016 to May 2017 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained 

provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

In summary:

• We found that all 12 selected air carriers have training programs that address disabilityrelated training requirements, with some variations in the specific content and format. 

Each air carrier demonstrated that it has in place initial and recurrent training for its 

employees, including its contractors who interface with passengers with disabilities (see 

slides 15 and 16).16 All 12 air carriers also demonstrated that they have annual CRO 

training and recurrent training programs, both of which are ACAA requirements.17

Typically, an initial CRO training includes an 8-hour class with situational scenarios and 

hands-on training, such as wheelchair handling and lifting passengers into aisle seats to 

assist in boarding. Our review revealed a few variations among air carriers’ disabilitytraining programs and related efforts. For example, we found that some air carriers 

voluntarily implemented quality assurance programs to improve and sustain their 

disability-training programs’ performance. Another step some carriers have taken, 

though not required by the ACAA or its implementing regulations, is the creation of a 

disability board, which serves as a forum for increasing awareness among the workforce

about disability issues. 

• We found that DOT uses a variety of oversight methods to ensure ACAA compliance by 

air carriers, including analyzing passengers’ complaint data, conducting compliance 

inspections, and pursuing additional enforcement actions. We also found that since 

2008, DOT has pursued more avenues for oversight, for example by adding visits to 

foreign air carriers’ headquarters and conducting airport inspections. 

• DOT analyzes passenger complaint data for trends and patterns and for 

potentially egregious violations. For example, in 2015, of the total disabilityrelated complaints submitted directly to DOT and to air carriers, the two largest 

complaint categories were “failure to provide assistance” for a wheelchair and 

“failure to provide other disability assistance” (see slide 21).18 

 16 Air carriers operating aircraft with 19 or more passenger seats must provide training for all personnel who deal with 

the traveling public, as appropriate to the duties of each employee. Additionally, air carriers must provide, or ensure 

that their contractors provide, training to the contractors’ employees who deal directly with the traveling public, as 

appropriate to the duties of each employee. 14 C.F.R. § 382.141.

17 14 C.F.R. § 382.143. Air carriers that operate aircraft with 19 or more passengers must provide training concerning 

the requirements of 14 C.F.R. § 382, and the duties of a CRO to all employees designated as CROs. 14 C.F.R. § 

382.141(a)(7).

18 While most air carriers tend to contract with other providers for wheelchair assistance or attendants, air carriers are 

ultimately responsible for providing or ensuring that the contractors provide the required training. 14 C.F.R. § 

382.141(a)(6).
Page 5 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

• DOT also conducts compliance reviews at air carrier headquarters for air-traveler 

consumer issues, including disability-related issues. DOT compliance inspection

data show that due to these reviews, DOT has pursued a number of disabilityrelated enforcement actions. Since 2008, DOT has conducted 38 reviews at air 

carrier headquarters, and 24 reviews found possible consumer violations, 

including 12 ACAA violations. Eleven of the 12 air carriers we selected have 

been reviewed since 2011, and 8 have been reviewed multiple times since 2008. 

• In 2015, DOT initiated consumer-related compliance reviews of air carriers, 

including ACAA compliance, at small, medium, and large hub airports. Since 

DOT started conducting inspections of air carriers at airports, DOT has 

conducted 108 reviews at 33 airports, which have resulted in DOT issuing 18 

warning letters and the opening of 5 disability-related enforcement actions. 

DOT’s enforcement cases generally result in consent orders, a type of settlement in 

which DOT may require air carriers to pay civil penalties or complete specified corrective 

actions in order to avoid future litigation. Since 2005, disability-related enforcement 

cases accounted for about 12 percent of DOT’s consumer-related enforcement cases 

(51 of 433 total cases). Of these 51 cases, we determined 13 involved training-related 

corrective actions (see slide 24), all of which resulted in consent orders. Many of these 

consent orders required air carriers to pay civil penalties; however, some stipulated that 

the air carrier had to pay only part of the penalty initially, and the air carrier would have 

to pay the remaining penalty amount only if it violates the order within a specified period 

of time. Other consent orders stipulated that the air carrier had to pay only part of the 

penalty and must apply the rest of the penalty amount toward the implementation of 

actions that go above and beyond compliance with the rule to directly benefit consumers 

(slide 25). Additionally, we found that, in some enforcement cases, the air carrier 

initiated corrective actions on its own, without DOT’s requiring those actions in the 

consent order. In total, for these 13 cases, air carriers were assessed $1,675,000 in civil 

penalties and paid $887,500 of that amount to the U.S. Treasury. The balance, 

$787,500, was either not paid at all because air carriers complied with their consent 

orders, or was used by air carriers toward corrective actions. Some corrective actions 

from these 13 cases included additional disability-training expenditures to retrain 

employees, compensation to affected customers, and implementation of wheelchair 

tracking systems. To ensure required corrective actions are implemented, DOT monitors 

and verifies these consent orders, in part by using its data-tracking system. As of April 

2017, 10 of the 13 enforcement cases were closed. For the 10 closed cases, we 

confirmed that all fines were paid and that the air carrier completed the required 

corrective actions. 

Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to DOT for review and comment. DOT provided technical 

comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Transportation. In addition, the report is 

available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.
Page 6 GAO-17-541R Passengers with Disabilities

Should you or your staff have questions concerning this report, please contact me at (202) 512-

2834 or dillinghamg@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and 

Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report were 

Paul Aussendorf (Assistant Director), Nick Nadarski (Analyst-in-Charge), Lacey Coppage, Kevin 

Egan, Delwen Jones, Sara Ann Moessbauer, and Joshua Ormond.

Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D.

Director

Physical Infrastructure Issues

Enclosures – 1

(101150)
Passengers with Disabilities: Air Carrier 

Disability-Training Programs and 

Department of Transportation Oversight 

Mandated by Section 2107, FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act 

of 2016 (Pub. L. No. 114-190) 

 

Briefings to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation and House Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure

Page 1
Contents

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Scope and Methodology

• Background

• Objective 1

• Objective 2

Page 2
Introduction

• According to the most recent census (2010), 57 million Americans have a disability 

(roughly 1 in 5), more than half of whom have mobility issues. 

• The 1986 Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) prohibits air carriers from discriminating 

against qualified individuals on the basis of disability. 

• Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations carry out the Air Carrier Access Act by 

providing various obligations for air carriers (14 C.F.R. § 382). 

• In 2000, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century 

amended the ACAA to include foreign air carriers. 

• In 2008, DOT issued a rule applying the ACAA regulations to foreign air carriers 

operating flights to or from the United States. 

• DOT is responsible for ensuring air carriers’ compliance through various enforcement 

actions. 

Page 3 Note: In title 49 of the U.S. Code, “air carrier” refers to U.S. carriers only. 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(2). For purposes of these briefing slides, when 

we use the term “air carrier,” we are referring to both U.S. and foreign air carriers, unless we specifically state otherwise.
Objectives

• FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (Section 

2107) requires GAO to submit to Congress a report assessing 

air carrier personnel and contractor training programs for the 

assistance of persons with disabilities.

• This briefing examines: 

(1) how selected air carriers’ disability training programs vary, 

if at all, in addressing federal requirements. 

(2) how DOT oversees ACAA compliance by air carriers and 

what enforcement actions DOT has taken, including 

corrective actions sought, with regard to air carriers’ 

disability training programs since 2005.

Page 4
Scope and Methodology

• To describe the extent of ACAA training program variation, we 

examined 12 air carriers (selected based on the greatest 

number of enplanements in 2015 (most recent year available) 

by air carrier type—4 network, 2 regional, 2 foreign, and 4 low 

cost).

• To describe how DOT oversees and enforces ACAA 

compliance by air carriers, we examined:

• DOT oversight efforts, including complaints, audits, and 

verification of corrective actions taken by air carriers. 

• The 51 disability-related enforcement cases since 2005, 13 

of which

Page 5
Background – Passenger with Disabilities Air 

Travel Experience

• Some key airport stakeholders help to ensure that airport facilities and 

services are accessible to passengers with disabilities (see fig. 1). 

• Airline assistance

• For passengers in wheelchairs, assistance can be contracted by the 

air carriers.

• Loading and stowing assistive devices is the responsibility of baggage 

handlers who can be airline employees or contract employees. 

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security screening 

• TSA has its own complaint process and training program for TSA 

screeners.

• Airport services and facilities must meet requirements under the 

Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

• FAA conducts on-site compliance reviews of airports and investigates 

complaints against airports.

Page 6
Background

Page 7

Figure 1: Passenger with Disabilities Air Travel Experience 
Background -

DOT Regulatory Authority and Air Carrier Role

• Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and implementing regulations

• 49 U.S.C. § 41705

• 14 C.F.R. part 382

• Air carriers’ role

• Provide ACAA training to employees, as well as to 

contractors who deal with the traveling public.

• Receive complaints directly from customers, respond to 

complaints, and annually report complaint data to DOT.

Page 8
Background - DOT’s Role

• Key activities conducted by DOT’s Office of Aviation 

Enforcement and Proceedings:

• Receive and investigate complaints directly from consumers 

• Identify trends and patterns in air carrier and DOT complaint 

data 

• Conduct on-site audits of airlines at their headquarters

• Conduct airport inspections of airlines

• Communicate informally with air carriers and attend 

stakeholder forums

Page 9
Background – Annual Disability Complaint and 

Enplanement Data Since 2005 

Year Disability Complaints Submitted by 

Consumers to DOT 

Disability Complaints Submitted to 

U.S. and Foreign Air Carriers by

Consumers

Total Enplanements

2005 511 13,584 745,579,572

2006 433 13,766 749,779,084

2007 488 15,290 774,408,791

2008 477 14,006 746,703,610

2009 518 17,068 707,500,457

2010 572 21,001 722,736,206

2011 628 21,372 735,341,289

2012 741 23,443 740,323,597

2013 683 25,246 747,238,182

2014 784 27,556 768,113,579

2015 944 30,829 805,673,910

Source: DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division Page 10
Background – Annual Air Carrier Disability 

Complaints by Category - 2015

Complaint Category

Disability Complaints 

Submitted to DOT by 

Consumers 

2015 Total 

% of Disability 

Complaints Submitted to 

DOT by Consumers of 

2015 Total 

Disability Complaints 

Submitted to Air Carriers by 

Consumers

2015 Total

% of Disability Complaints 

Submitted to Air Carriers by 

Consumers

of 2015 Total

Refusal To Board Passenger 57 6% 468 2%

Refusal to Board w/o Attendant 0 0% 21 0%

Security Issues Regarding Disability 0 0% 46 0%

Aircraft Not Accessible 4 0% 91 0%

Airport Not Accessible 4 0% 98 0%

Advance Notice Dispute 0 0% 142 0%

Seating Accommodation 103 11% 3,026 10%

Failure to Provide Assistance 463 49% 17,828 58%

Damage to Assistive Device 28 3% 1,541 5%

Storage and Delay of Assistive Device 95 10% 1,570 5%

Service Animal Problem 100 11% 1,638 5%

Unsatisfactory Info 28 3% 520 2%

Other 62 7% 3,840 12%

Total 944 30,829

Source: DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division Page 11
Background – DOT Oversight

• According to DOT representatives, potential violations of the ACAA warrant a 

further review to determine if corrective actions are necessary. Possible outcomes 

include (see fig. 2): 

• No violation

• Minimal violation, which may:

• include technical violations; violations that occurred for a short period of 

time; violations that are not supported by sufficient evidence; or no 

violation of a regulation. However, DOT finds one of the air carrier’s 

policies concerning the ACAA is lacking and can be followed with a 

warning letter to the air carrier.

• Serious violations might result in an enforcement action. 

Page 12
Background

Page 13

Figure 2: DOT Complaint Process
Background - DOT Communication and Education 

Efforts with Air Carriers and Other Stakeholders

• DOT informally communicates with air carriers.

• DOT participates in training forums and issues instructional materials 

to carriers and stakeholders.

• Leads disability forums

• Led recent advisory committee

• Disability-related training and information materials:

• Wheelchair and guide assistance; 

• Stowage, loss, delay, and damage of wheelchairs and 

other mobility assistive devices; 

• Aircraft seating accommodations; and 

• Travel with service animals.

Page 14
Objective 1: All Selected Air Carrier Disability Training 

Programs Generally Address Requirements

• Based on our interviews with air carrier representatives and 

our review of available training documentation, we found that 

all of their ACAA training programs generally addressed the 

following regulatory requirements:

• Training of employees who deal with the traveling public 

regarding the awareness of different disabilities and the 

ability to communicate with passengers with disabilities.

• Recurrent training for all personnel.

• Training for Complaint Resolution Officers (CRO) 

• CROs resolve complaints on behalf of air carriers and 

can overrule decisions of other air carrier personnel, 

except safety decisions made by aircraft pilots.

• Consultation with disability organizations in development 

of ACAA training programs.

Page 15
Objective 1: All Selected Air Carrier Disability Training 

Programs Generally Address Requirements

• Training of personnel who deal with the travelling public:

• All 12 selected air carriers use a mix of classroom based training and 

computer based training for specific workgroups.

• Inflight, gate agent, ramp/baggage employees.

• All air carriers provided us with information ranging from training 

summaries to full manuals.

• According to the two regional carriers we selected, they rely on 

mainline partner training. 

• Training for air carriers’ contractors 

• Air carriers seek to ensure compliance of their contractors (i.e., 

wheelchair attendants) by:

• Providing ACAA training to their contractors.

• Including ACAA training requirements in their contracts.

• Providing performance payments based on quality of service.

Page 16
Objective 1: Air Carriers’ Disability Training 

Programs Generally Address Requirements

• All 12 air carriers require annual CRO training: 

• Typically, an initial CRO training includes an 8-

hour class with situational scenarios and 

hands-on training such as wheelchair handling 

and lifting passengers into aisle seats to assist 

in boarding.

• 12 air carriers conduct annual recurrent 

training.

Page 17
Objective 1: Other Variations Found in Air 

Carriers’ ACAA Training Programs 

• Other variations we identified that are not required by the 

regulations: 

• 6 of the 12 air carriers have a disability board or 

something similar which serves as a forum for increasing 

awareness.

• Some air carriers said they have quality assurance 

programs to improve and sustain training programs’ 

performance.

Page 18
Objective 2: DOT Uses Various Oversight 

Methods to Ensure Compliance by Air Carriers

• Since 2005, DOT has settled or dismissed 433 

enforcement actions with air carriers regarding various 

consumer related issues; 51 of these were disability-related 

violations. 

• DOT enforcement can include warning letters or consent 

orders requiring corrective action by air carriers.

• DOT uses a tracking process to verify that airlines complete 

corrective actions.

Page 19
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA - 

Compliance Methods

• Analyzes passenger complaint data for trends and 

patterns, and for potential egregious violations.

• Conducts compliance reviews at air carriers’ 

headquarters for various consumer issues, including 

ACAA compliance. 

• Conducts inspections of air carriers at airports for 

similar consumer issues. 

Page 20
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA 

Compliance - Passenger Complaint Data 

• Passengers may file disability-related complaints with both DOT and/or air 

carriers.

• Complaints filed with the DOT: 

• According to DOT, officials investigate each complaint and review air 

carrier submitted data and recent data trends.

• In 2015, 944 total disability-related complaints were submitted directly to 

DOT, the most common of which (35%) was “Failure to Provide 

Wheelchair Assistance”.

• Complaints filed with the air carriers: 

• Air carriers must respond to each complaint within 30 days.

• Air carriers must annually report disability-related complaints to DOT.

• In 2015, air carriers received 30,829 disability-related complaints, nearly 

half of which were “Failure to Provide Wheelchair Assistance” complaints.

Page 21
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA 

Compliance - Air Carrier Reviews

• DOT selection factors for consumer-related compliance reviews 

include the air carrier’s total number of annual passengers, complaints, 

length of time since last inspection, and the air carrier’s enforcement 

history.

• Prior to 2008, DOT conducted targeted inspections that were focused 

on a carrier’s specific potential issue or problem

• Since 2008 – 38 audits completed:

• 24 audits (63%) found possible consumer violations, including 12 

ACAA violations, and were settled or are currently being settled via 

consent orders.

• 11 of the 12 air carriers we selected have been reviewed since 

2011; 8 have been reviewed multiple times since 2008.

• DOT periodically reviews carriers’ CRO training by attending training 

sessions.

Page 22
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA 

Compliance – Inspections at Airports

• According to DOT, it began consumer-related compliance inspections 

of air carriers at small, medium, and large hub airports in 2015. 

• DOT has taken a number of disability-related enforcement actions as a 

result of its airport inspections.

• In 2016, 61 inspections at 16 airports (including 10 of the 12 GAO 

selected air carriers). 

• In 2015, 47 inspections at 17 airports (including 11 of the 12 GAO 

selected air carriers).

• As a result of the 2015 inspections, DOT generated 5 enforcement 

cases and issued warning letters to 18 air carriers that included 

ACAA issues. 

• DOT follows up on warning letters as part of its planning for future 

inspections.

Page 23
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA Compliance -

Nature and Scope of DOT Enforcement 

• ACAA enforcement cases constitute a relatively small percentage (about 

12%) of DOT consumer-related enforcements cases since 2005:

• 51 of the 433 consumer-related enforcement cases were disability-related 

cases involving air carriers.

• These cases resulted in over $9.54 million in total fines, which 

included offsets for air carriers such as investments in improved 

training, compensation to travelers, and technology improvements.

• According to DOT, all cases were dismissed or settled with consent 

orders - an agreement or settlement to resolve a dispute between two 

parties without admission of guilt. 

• We identified 13 of the 51 disability-related cases as involving trainingrelated corrective actions.

• These 13 cases resulted in $1,675,000 in civil penalties.

Page 24
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA Compliance 

- Nature and Scope of DOT Enforcement 

• In the 13 selected disability-related enforcement cases, air carriers paid 

$887,500 in civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury. The remaining $787,500 

was either not paid because the airline met the requirements of the 

consent order, or was applied by the airline toward corrective actions, 

such as:

• funding salaries and additional ACAA training expenditures to retrain 

employees; 

• providing compensation to affected customers; 

• implementing wheelchair tracking systems;

• establishing disability councils to help improve their ACAA training 

programs; and

• creating websites and hotlines for passengers with disabilities to 

obtain information and submit complaints. 

Page 25
Objective 2: DOT Oversight of ACAA 

Compliance - Verification of Actions 

• DOT monitors and verifies corrective actions required by 

enforcement orders by using its data tracking system.

• 10 of our 13 selected enforcement cases have been 

closed.

• 3 remain open because the time period for corrective 

action has not expired; however as of April 2017, 

each air carrier has complied with its consent order.

• During our review, we confirmed that all fines were paid, 

and that DOT verified that the air carrier completed the 

required corrective actions.

Page 26
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