II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 545 

To protect the rights of passengers with disabilities in air transportation, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CASEY, Ms. 

HASSAN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To protect the rights of passengers with disabilities in air 

transportation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Air Carrier Access 

5 Amendments Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed 

9 the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (Public Law 99– 


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1 435; 100 Stat. 1080), adding a provision now codi2 fied in section 41705 of title 49, United States Code 

3 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘ACAA’’), prohib4 iting disability-based discrimination in air transpor5 tation. 

6 (2) Despite the effort, individuals, including 

7 veterans, with disabilities continue to experience sig8 nificant barriers to and with traveling by air, such 

9 as— 

10 (A) damaged assistive devices; 

11 (B) inaccessible aircraft, lavatories, and 

12 communication media; 

13 (C) delayed assistance; 

14 (D) inappropriate treatment of service ani15 mals; 

16 (E) inadequate disability awareness and 

17 sensitivity training; and 

18 (F) a lack of suitable seating accommoda19 tions. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that— 

22 (1) access for individuals with disabilities in air 

23 transportation must move into the 21st century, or 

24 individuals with disabilities will be left behind and 

25 unable to compete in today’s job market or enjoy the 


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1 opportunities available to other citizens of the 

2 United States; 

3 (2) aircraft must accommodate individuals with 

4 disabilities, and air carriers and foreign air carriers 

5 must acquire and maintain aircraft that meet broad 

6 accessibility standards; 

7 (3) the ACAA must be updated to improve ac8 cess to air transportation for individuals with dis9 abilities; 

10 (4) legislation is necessary to modernize stand11 ards and requirements that will strengthen accessi12 bility in air transportation; 

13 (5) the Department of Transportation, in direct 

14 consultation with the Access Board, must promul15 gate regulations to ensure that all passengers with 

16 disabilities receive— 

17 (A) prompt and effective boarding, 

18 deplaning, and connections between flights; 

19 (B) accommodations, including non20 standard accommodations, that safely facilitate 

21 air travel; and 

22 (C) better access to airport facilities, in23 cluding the provision of visually and tactilely 

24 accessible announcements and full and equal ac25 cess to aural communications; 


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1 (6) legislation is necessary to ensure that indi2 viduals with disabilities have adequate remedies 

3 available when air carriers and foreign air carriers 

4 violate the ACAA; and 

5 (7) unlike other civil rights statutes, the ACAA 

6 does not contain a private right of action, which is 

7 critical to the enforcement of such statutes, and 

8 Congress must correct this anomaly. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ACCESS BOARD.—The term ‘‘Access Board’’ 

12 means the Architectural and Transportation Bar13 riers Compliance Board. 

14 (2) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ has 

15 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of 

16 title 49, United States Code. 

17 (3) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ means, 

18 with respect to an individual— 

19 (A) a physical or mental impairment that, 

20 on a permanent or temporary basis, substan21 tially limits one or more major life activities of 

22 such individual; 

23 (B) a record of such an impairment; or 

24 (C) being regarded as having such an im25 pairment. 


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1 (4) FOREIGN AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘foreign 

2 air carrier’’ has the meaning given that term in sec3 tion 40102 of title 49, United States Code. 

4 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Transportation. 

6 SEC. 4. IMPROVING ACCESS TO AIR TRANSPORTATION FOR 

7 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41705 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 41705. Accessibility of air transportation for indi11 viduals with disabilities 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In providing air transportation, 

13 an air carrier or foreign air carrier may not discriminate 

14 against an individual on the basis of a disability, including 

15 by taking any of the actions prohibited under subsection 

16 (b) or not taking any of the actions required by subsection 

17 (c). 

18 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

20 an air carrier or foreign air carrier may not— 

21 ‘‘(A) directly or through a contractual, li22 censing, or other arrangement, discriminate in 

23 the full and equal enjoyment (within the mean24 ing of that term under section 302(a) of the 

25 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 12182(a))) of air transportation, includ2 ing the use of standards or criteria or methods 

3 of administration; 

4 ‘‘(B) deny the opportunity of an individual 

5 or a class of individuals, on the basis of a dis6 ability or disabilities of the individual or class, 

7 to participate in or benefit from the goods, 

8 services, facilities, advantages, accommodations, 

9 or other opportunities provided by the air car10 rier or foreign air carrier; 

11 ‘‘(C) afford an individual or a class of indi12 viduals, on the basis of a disability or disabil13 ities of the individual or class, with the oppor14 tunity to participate in or benefit from a good, 

15 service, facility, advantage, accommodation, or 

16 other opportunity that is not equal to, or is dif17 ferent or separate from a good, service, facility, 

18 advantage, accommodation, or other oppor19 tunity afforded to other individuals; 

20 ‘‘(D) deny any goods, services, facilities, 

21 privileges, advantages, accommodations, or 

22 other opportunities to an individual because of 

23 the known disability of another individual with 

24 whom the individual is known to have a rela25 tionship or association; 


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1 ‘‘(E) impose or apply eligibility criteria 

2 that screen out or have the effect of screening 

3 out individuals with disabilities or a class of in4 dividuals with disabilities from fully enjoying 

5 any good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, 

6 accommodation, or other opportunity provided 

7 by the air carrier or foreign air carrier, unless 

8 the air carrier or foreign air carrier can dem9 onstrate that such criteria are necessary for the 

10 provision of the good, service, facility, privilege, 

11 advantage, accommodation, or other oppor12 tunity; 

13 ‘‘(F) directly or through a contractual, li14 censing, or other arrangement, use standards or 

15 criteria or methods of administration that— 

16 ‘‘(i) have the effect of discriminating 

17 on the basis of disability; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) perpetuate discrimination against 

19 others who are subject to common adminis20 trative control; or 

21 ‘‘(G) operate an aircraft that does not 

22 comply with this section and regulations pre23 scribed under this section, unless the aircraft, 

24 to the maximum extent feasible, is made readily 

25 accessible to and usable by individuals with disVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S545.IS S545

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1 abilities, including individuals who use wheel2 chairs, in accordance with this section and upon 

3 issuance of regulations prescribed under this 

4 section, not later than 7 years after the date of 

5 enactment of the Air Carrier Access Amend6 ments Act of 2023. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), an air carrier or foreign air carrier 

10 may provide an individual or a class of individ11 uals, on the basis of a disability or disabilities 

12 of the individual or class, with a good, service, 

13 facility, privilege, advantage, accommodation, or 

14 other opportunity that is different or separate 

15 from the good, service, facility, privilege, advan16 tage, accommodation, or other opportunity pro17 vided to other individuals if doing so is nec18 essary to— 

19 ‘‘(i) provide the individual or class of 

20 individuals with a good, service, facility, 

21 privilege, advantage, accommodation, or 

22 other opportunity that is as effective as the 

23 good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, 

24 accommodation, or other opportunity pro25 vided to other individuals; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) comply with statutory, regu2 latory, or other requirements related to 

3 safety and security enforced by the De4 partment of Transportation, the Federal 

5 Aviation Administration, or applicable for6 eign aviation authorities. 

7 ‘‘(B) ACCEPTANCE.—An individual or a 

8 class of individuals shall retain the authority to 

9 decide whether to accept or refuse a good, serv10 ice, facility, privilege, advantage, accommoda11 tion, or other opportunity referred to in sub12 paragraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(C) SELECTION OF GOODS, SERVICES, 

14 AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED TO

15 OTHERS.—If, in accordance with subparagraph 

16 (A), an air carrier or foreign air carrier pro17 vides to an individual or a class of individuals 

18 a good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, ac19 commodation, or other opportunity that is dif20 ferent or separate from the good, service, facil21 ity, privilege, advantage, accommodation, or 

22 other opportunity provided to other individuals, 

23 the air carrier or foreign air carrier may not 

24 deny to an individual with a disability the op25 portunity to participate in the good, service, faVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S545.IS S545

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1 cility, privilege, advantage, accommodation, or 

2 other opportunity provided to such other indi3 viduals. 

4 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED ACTIONS.—An air carrier or foreign 

5 air carrier shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, 

7 advantages, accommodations, and other opportuni8 ties to an individual with a disability in the most in9 tegrated setting appropriate to the needs of the indi10 vidual; 

11 ‘‘(2) make reasonable modifications to policies, 

12 practices, or procedures, when such modifications 

13 are necessary to afford goods, services, facilities, 

14 privileges, advantages, accommodations, or other op15 portunities to individuals with disabilities, unless the 

16 air carrier or foreign air carrier can demonstrate 

17 that making such modifications would fundamentally 

18 alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, 

19 privileges, advantages, accommodations, or other op20 portunities; and 

21 ‘‘(3) take such measures as may be necessary 

22 to ensure that no individual with a disability is ex23 cluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise 

24 treated differently from other individuals because of 

25 the absence of auxiliary aids or services, unless the 


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1 air carrier or foreign air carrier can demonstrate 

2 that taking such measures would— 

3 ‘‘(A) fundamentally alter the nature of a 

4 good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, ac5 commodation, or other opportunity being of6 fered; or 

7 ‘‘(B) result in an undue burden to an air 

8 carrier or foreign air carrier. 

9 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

11 that individuals with disabilities traveling in air 

12 transportation are able to— 

13 ‘‘(A) file complaints with the Department 

14 of Transportation in response to disability-re15 lated discrimination prohibited under this sec16 tion or regulations prescribed under this sec17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(B) receive assistance from the Depart19 ment of Transportation through a toll-free hot20 line telephone number, publicly available inter21 net website, or comparable electronic means of 

22 communication. 

23 ‘‘(2) NOTICE TO PASSENGERS WITH DISABIL24 ITIES.—Each air carrier or foreign air carrier shall 

25 include on its publicly available internet website, any 


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1 related mobile device application, and online serv2 ice— 

3 ‘‘(A) the hotline telephone number estab4 lished under section 42302 or the telephone 

5 number for the Aviation Consumer Protection 

6 Division of the Department of Transportation 

7 and the Department’s disability assistance hot8 line telephone number or a comparable elec9 tronic means of communication; 

10 ‘‘(B) a notice that a consumer can file a 

11 disability-related complaint with the Aviation 

12 Consumer Protection Division; 

13 ‘‘(C) an active link to the internet website 

14 of the Aviation Consumer Protection Division 

15 for a consumer to file a disability-related com16 plaint; and 

17 ‘‘(D) a notice that the consumer can file a 

18 disability-related complaint with the air carrier 

19 or foreign air carrier and the process and any 

20 timelines for filing such a complaint. 

21 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) not later than 120 days after the 

24 receipt of any complaint of a violation of 

25 this section or a regulation prescribed 


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1 under this section, investigate such com2 plaint; 

3 ‘‘(ii) provide, in writing, to the indi4 vidual that filed the complaint and the air 

5 carrier or foreign air carrier alleged to 

6 have violated this section or a regulation 

7 prescribed under this section, the deter8 mination of the Secretary with respect 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(I) whether the air carrier or 

11 foreign air carrier violated this section 

12 or a regulation prescribed under this 

13 section; 

14 ‘‘(II) the facts underlying the 

15 complaint; and 

16 ‘‘(III) any action the Secretary is 

17 taking in response to the complaint; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) assess civil penalties for, at a 

20 minimum, each of the following violations: 

21 ‘‘(I) Delay of, loss of, or signifi22 cant damage to a wheelchair or scoot23 er. 

24 ‘‘(II) Physical harm to or fatal 

25 injury of a passenger in the provision 


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1 of a service related to the require2 ments of this section. 

3 ‘‘(III) Failure to provide proper 

4 assistance in boarding or deplaning a 

5 passenger with disabilities when aisle 

6 chair assistance is required. 

7 ‘‘(IV) Denial of boarding for a 

8 passenger with disabilities or denial of 

9 access for a service animal in a man10 ner not in compliance with require11 ments enforced by the Department of 

12 Transportation, the Federal Aviation 

13 Administration, or applicable foreign 

14 aviation authorities. 

15 ‘‘(V) Gross negligence of a pas16 senger with disabilities in air trans17 portation. 

18 For purposes of section 46301, a separate 

19 violation occurs under this section for each 

20 individual act of discrimination prohibited 

21 by subsections (a) through (c). 

22 ‘‘(B) REFERRAL.—If the Secretary has 

23 reasonable cause to believe that any air carrier 

24 or foreign air carrier or group of air carriers or 

25 foreign air carriers is engaged in a pattern or 


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1 practice of discrimination under this section, or 

2 any person or group of persons has been dis3 criminated against under this section and such 

4 discrimination raises an issue of general public 

5 importance, the Secretary shall, after the as6 sessment of the civil penalty, refer the matter 

7 to the Attorney General for further action. 

8 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION OF DATA.—The Sec9 retary shall publish disability-related complaint 

10 data in a manner comparable to other aviation 

11 consumer complaint data. 

12 ‘‘(D) REVIEW AND REPORT.—The Sec13 retary shall regularly review all complaints re14 ceived by air carriers and foreign air carriers 

15 alleging discrimination on the basis of disability 

16 and shall report annually to Congress on the 

17 disposition of such complaints. 

18 ‘‘(e) CIVIL ACTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AGGRIEVED PERSONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved 

21 by an air carrier or foreign air carrier’s viola22 tion of this section or a regulation prescribed 

23 under this section may, during the 2-year pe24 riod beginning on the date of the violation, 


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1 bring a civil action in an appropriate district 

2 court of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(B) AVAILABLE RELIEF.—If a court finds 

4 in favor of the plaintiff in a civil action brought 

5 under subparagraph (A), the court may award 

6 to the plaintiff equitable and legal relief, includ7 ing compensatory and punitive damages, and 

8 shall, in addition to any such relief, award rea9 sonable attorney’s fees, reasonable expert fees, 

10 and costs of the action to the plaintiff. 

11 ‘‘(C) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE

12 REMEDIES.—Any person aggrieved by an air 

13 carrier or foreign air carrier’s violation of this 

14 section or a regulation prescribed under this 

15 section shall not be required to exhaust admin16 istrative remedies before bringing a civil action 

17 under subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

19 in this paragraph shall be construed to invali20 date or limit other Federal or State laws afford21 ing to individuals with disabilities greater legal 

22 rights or protections than those granted by this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GEN25 ERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

2 may bring a civil action on behalf of individuals 

3 aggrieved by an air carrier or foreign air car4 rier’s violation of this section or a regulation 

5 prescribed under this section in any appropriate 

6 district court of the United States. 

7 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF COURT.—In a civil 

8 action under subparagraph (A), the court 

9 may— 

10 ‘‘(i) grant any equitable relief that the 

11 court considers to be appropriate; 

12 ‘‘(ii) award such other relief as the 

13 court considers to be appropriate, includ14 ing monetary damages to individuals ag15 grieved by an air carrier or foreign air car16 rier’s violation of this section or a regula17 tion prescribed under this section, when re18 quested by the Attorney General; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) assess a civil penalty against the 

20 air carrier or foreign air carrier. 

21 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion shall require an air carrier or foreign air carrier to 

23 permit an individual to participate in or benefit from 

24 goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, accom25 modations, or other opportunities if the individual poses 


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1 a significant risk to the health or safety of others that 

2 cannot be eliminated by a modification to policies, prac3 tices, or procedures or by the provision of auxiliary aids 

4 or services. 

5 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) ACCESS BOARD.—The term ‘Access Board’ 

7 means the Architectural and Transportation Bar8 riers Compliance Board. 

9 ‘‘(2) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘air carrier’ has 

10 the same meaning given that term in section 40102. 

11 ‘‘(3) AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘aircraft’ means a 

12 transport category airplane designed for operation 

13 by an air carrier or foreign air carrier type-certifi14 cated under part 21 of title 14, Code of Federal 

15 Regulations, with a passenger seating capacity of 30 

16 or more. 

17 ‘‘(4) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ means, 

18 with respect to an individual— 

19 ‘‘(A) a physical or mental impairment that, 

20 on a permanent or temporary basis, substan21 tially limits one or more major life activities of 

22 such individual; 

23 ‘‘(B) a record of such an impairment; or 

24 ‘‘(C) being regarded as having such an im25 pairment. 


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1 ‘‘(5) FOREIGN AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘for2 eign air carrier’ has the meaning given that term in 

3 section 40102. 

4 ‘‘(6) MOST INTEGRATED SETTING.—The term 

5 ‘most integrated setting’ has the meaning given that 

6 term in appendix A of part 35 of title 28, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations. 

8 ‘‘(7) UNDUE BURDEN.—The term ‘undue bur9 den’ has the meaning given that term in section 

10 36.104 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 ensure the availability and provision of appropriate tech14 nical assistance manuals to individuals and entities with 

15 rights or responsibilities under section 41705 of title 49, 

16 United States Code, as amended by subsection (a). 

17 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

18 for chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amend19 ed by striking the item relating to section 41705 and in20 serting the following: 

‘‘41705. Accessibility of air transportation for individuals with disabilities.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. STANDARDS. 

22 (a) AIRCRAFT ACCESS STANDARDS.— 

23 (1) STANDARDS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Secretary shall, in direct consultation with the 

2 Access Board, prescribe regulations setting 

3 forth the minimum standards to ensure that 

4 aircraft, and related boarding and deplaning 

5 equipment, are accessible, in terms of design 

6 for, transportation of, and communication with, 

7 individuals with disabilities, including individ8 uals who use wheelchairs. 

9 (B) APPLICATION.—The standards pre10 scribed under subparagraph (A) shall apply to 

11 existing aircraft operated by air carriers or for12 eign air carriers on the date that is 5 years 

13 after the regulations prescribed under subpara14 graph (A) become effective. 

15 (2) COVERED AIRCRAFT, EQUIPMENT, AND FEA16 TURES.—The standards prescribed under paragraph 

17 (1)(A) shall address, at a minimum— 

18 (A) boarding and deplaning equipment, in19 cluding ensuring that there is a route accessible 

20 for individuals to board and deplane the aircraft 

21 from their personal assistive devices, including 

22 wheelchairs; 

23 (B) seating accommodations, which shall 

24 include in-cabin wheelchair restraints (if 

25 deemed technologically feasible); 


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1 (C) lavatories; 

2 (D) captioning and audio description of in3 flight entertainment and captioning of any 

4 other aural communication; 

5 (E) individual video displays; 

6 (F) visually and tactilely accessible an7 nouncements; 

8 (G) adequate in-cabin stowage for assistive 

9 devices; and 

10 (H) proper stowage of assistive devices in 

11 the cargo hold to prevent damage, which in12 cludes ensuring that cargo doors and the cargo 

13 holds allow such devices to be enplaned and 

14 stowed upright. 

15 (b) AIRPORT FACILITIES.—Not later than 2 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 shall, in direct consultation with the Access Board, pre18 scribe regulations setting forth minimum standards under 

19 section 41705 of title 49, United States Code (commonly 

20 known as the ‘‘Air Carrier Access Act’’)(as amended by 

21 section 4), that ensure all gates (including counters), 

22 ticketing areas, and customer service desks covered under 

23 such section at airports are accessible to and usable by 

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1 vision of visually and tactilely accessible announcements 

2 and full and equal access to aural communications. 

3 (c) WEBSITES, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, AND KI4 OSKS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary shall, in direct consultation with 

6 the Access Board, prescribe regulations setting forth min7 imum standards to ensure that individuals with disabilities 

8 are able to access kiosks, software applications, and 

9 websites in a manner that is equally as effective as individ10 uals without disabilities, with a substantially equivalent 

11 ease of use. Such standards shall be consistent with the 

12 standards set forth in the Web Content Accessibility 

13 Guidelines 2.1 Level AA of the Web Accessibility Initiative 

14 of the World Wide Web Consortium or any subsequent 

15 version. 

Æ 


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