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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 99962-99964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29014]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2011-0177]

Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collections to OMB; 
Agency Request for Reinstatement of Previously Approved Information 
Collections: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation 
(Department or DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended) this notice announces the Department's 
intention to reinstate Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control 
number 2105-0571 for certain information collections. The collections 
involve requirements in part 382 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), for carriers to provide a mechanism on their 
websites for passengers to provide online notification of their 
requests for disability accommodation services and for carriers to 
ensure that a disclaimer is activated when a user clicks a link on a 
primary website to embedded third-party software or an external 
website. The disclaimer must inform the user that the software/website 
in not within the carrier's control and may not follow the same 
accessibility policies.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by February 10, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2011-0177 through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590.

[[Page 99963]]

     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. The telephone number 
is 202-366-9329.
     Instructions: You must include the agency name and a 
docket number DOT-OST-2011-0177 at the beginning of your comment. All 
comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Brodsky, Office of the General 
Counsel, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-7592 (Voice) 
or [email protected] (Email). You may also contact John C. Wood, 
Office of the General Counsel, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, 20590, 
(202) 366-9342 (Voice), (202) 366-7152 (Fax), or [email protected] 
(Email). Arrangements to receive this document in an alternative format 
may be made by contacting the above-named individuals.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0571.
    Title: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of information collections.
    Background: This notice covers two information collection 
requirements in the Department's Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) 
implementing regulation, 14 CFR part 382 (part 382), Nondiscrimination 
on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel. Specifically, pursuant to 
section 382.43(d), covered carriers must provide an online mechanism 
for passengers to request disability accommodation services (e.g., 
enplaning/deplaning assistance, deaf/hard of hearing communication 
assistance, escort to service animal relief area, etc.) for a 
particular flight. Pursuant to section 382.43(e), covered carriers must 
also ensure that when a user activates a link on a carrier's primary 
website to embedded third-party software or to an external website, a 
disclaimer is displayed notifying the user that the application or 
website may not be accessible. These requirements became effective on 
December 12, 2015, and December 12, 2016, respectively. Covered 
carriers are U.S. and foreign air carriers that operate at least one 
aircraft having a designed seating capacity of more than 60 passengers 
and own or control a primary website that markets passenger air 
transportation or a tour, or tour component that must be purchased with 
air transportation, to the general public in the United States.\1\
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    \1\ The Department estimates that 170 is the maximum number of 
entities that are covered by the requirements addressed in this 
notice. 170 represents the number of U.S. and foreign air carriers 
that submitted an annual report on disability-related complaints to 
the Department under 14 CFR 382.157 for the reporting cycle in 
Calendar Year 2023. Because the requirement to file a report under 
section 382.157 applies to U.S. and foreign air carriers that 
conduct passenger-carrying service to, from, or in the United States 
with at least one aircraft having a designed seating capacity of 
more than 60 seats, the Department assumes the number of carriers 
that file the annual report on disability-related complaints is 
similar to the number of carriers covered under the requirements 
described in this notice.
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    DOT is publishing this notice to announce its intent to request 
reinstatement of the previously approved information collections 
described above under OMB Control Number 2105-0571. The Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR 
part 1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public 
comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve 
paperwork packages. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or 
sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not 
required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved 
by the OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control 
Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no 
person shall generally be subject to monetary penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information if the collection of 
information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 
1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    The title, a description of the information collection and 
respondents, and the periodic reporting burden are set forth below for 
each of the information collections:
    1. Requirement to make a disability accommodation service request 
function available on the primary website. (14 CFR 382.43(d)).
    Each covered carrier must provide a mechanism on its website for 
passengers to request a disability accommodation service for a future 
flight and provide advance notice of their request. Carriers may, but 
need not, require passengers to include contact information on the form 
to follow-up and request more specific information about the 
passengers' accommodation needs. Carriers may also use the aggregate 
data from the online service requests to understand and better plan for 
the volume and types of service requests they receive across time 
periods and routes, but also are not required to do so.
    While the content and design of the online service request form is 
up to the carriers, the Department anticipates that each covered U.S. 
and foreign carrier that markets scheduled air transportation to the 
general public in the United States would incur initial costs 
associated with developing and reviewing a design and implementation 
plan for the request form, developing, coding, and integrating the form 
into the website, as well as testing, debugging, and connecting the 
form with a backend database to store the information. The final 
regulatory analysis (FRA) for the final rule titled Nondiscrimination 
on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of websites and 
Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports estimated that it will take an 
average of 32 labor hours per carrier to develop, implement, integrate, 
connect, and test the online request form. Initial costs are reduced 
for carriers that rely on a request form developed by another entity. 
There are no recordkeeping or reporting requirements. However, carriers 
should use the service request information to facilitate appropriate, 
timely assistance to their passengers.
    Respondents: Certificated U.S. and foreign air carriers operating 
to, from, and within the United States that operate at least one 
aircraft having a seating capacity of more than 60 passengers and own 
or control a primary website that markets air transportation to the 
general public in the United States.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 170 U.S. and foreign carriers, of 
which the Department expects all to have achieved compliance with the 
requirement in a prior year. The Department estimates that each year 
there will be 14 new respondent carriers.
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 0 hours per carrier 
compliant in a prior year, unless the carrier voluntarily elects to 
modify or improve its form, and 32 hours per carrier creating an online 
request form.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 448 hours. This estimate was 
calculated by multiplying the total number of labor hours per year that 
a carrier is estimated to spend to develop, implement, integrate, 
connect, and test the online request form (32) by the estimated number 
of new respondent carriers each year (14).
    Frequency: One-time requirement.
    2. Requirement to provide a disclaimer notice to users when 
clicking a link on a primary website to an

[[Page 99964]]

embedded third-party software or an external website. (14 CFR 
382.43(e)).
    Carriers must provide a disclaimer notice for each link on their 
primary website that enables a user to access software or an external 
website that is not in the carrier's control. The disclaimer notice 
must be activated the first time a user clicks the link and must notify 
the user that the application/website is not within the carrier's 
control and may not follow the same accessibility policies as the 
primary website. The Department anticipates that each covered U.S. and 
foreign carrier will incur costs associated with identifying all links 
on their websites that may require a disclaimer such as developing and 
reviewing the design and language for the disclaimer notice, as well as 
developing, testing, and deploying the code to the appropriate web 
pages.
    The incremental labor hours associated with providing the required 
disclaimer may vary depending on the number of links on the website to 
which this requirement applies. The FRA estimated that it will take an 
average of 6 labor hours per carrier to identify the links and then 
develop, test, and deploy the disclaimer notice on the website. We also 
estimate that it will take less than 30 minutes per year for a carrier 
to associate the notice with any new links to external websites or 
third-party software added to their websites.
    Respondents: Certificated U.S. and foreign air carriers operating 
to, from, and within the United States that operate at least one 
aircraft having a seating capacity of more than 60 passengers and own 
or control a primary website that markets air transportation to the 
general public in the United States.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 170 U.S. and foreign carriers, of 
which the Department expects all to have achieved compliance with the 
requirement in a prior year. The Department estimates that each year 
there will be 14 new respondent carriers.
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 6 hours for carriers to 
create, test, and deploy the disclaimer. 30 minutes for carriers 
compliant in prior years to associate the notice with new links and 
third-party software.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 169 hours. This estimate was 
calculated by multiplying the total number of labor hours per year that 
a carrier is estimated to spend to develop, test, and deploy the online 
request form (6) by the estimated number of new respondent carriers 
each year (14). To that total we added the product of the number of 
hours that we estimated carriers may spend associating the notice with 
new weblinks (.5 hours) and the number of carriers that are expected to 
have achieved compliance in a prior year (170).
    Frequency: One-time and recurrent requirements.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the Department's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the 
Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.26, 1.27, 1.48 and 1.49; DOT Order 
1351.29.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Livaughn Chapman Jr.,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2024-29014 Filed 12-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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