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 wheelchairs 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 discrimination against airline passengers with disabilities who 

use lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids 

that are safe for air travel, 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 ‘‘Working to Help En5 sure Equity for Lithium-ion-powered Chairs on Airplanes 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘WHEELChairs on Airplanes Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed 

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

6 435; 100 Stat. 1080), adding a provision now codi7 fied in section 41705 of title 49, United States 

8 Code, prohibiting disability-based discrimination in 

9 air transportation. 

10 (2) Despite this effort, individuals with disabil11 ities continue to experience significant barriers to 

12 and with traveling in air transportation. 

13 (3) The Department of Transportation’s Airline 

14 Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights specifies 

15 that ‘‘airlines must accept a battery powered wheel16 chair, if it fits in the cargo compartment and can be 

17 transported consistent with safety and security re18 quirements’’. 

19 (4) Wheelchairs and other mobility aids pow20 ered by lithium-ion batteries are growing in preva21 lence, as lithium-ion batteries are light-weight and 

22 can extend a device’s range between charges. 

23 (5) Airline passengers with disabilities who 

24 travel with lithium-ion-powered wheelchairs or mobil25 ity aids have been arbitrarily and erroneously denied 


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1 boarding despite presenting documentation that 

2 their devices meet all applicable safety standards. 

3 (6) As the popularity of lithium-ion-powered 

4 wheelchairs and mobility aids continues to increase, 

5 so will the frequency of instances when airline pas6 sengers with disabilities are erroneously and arbi7 trarily denied boarding. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that an air carrier or foreign air carrier that denies 

10 an airline passenger with a disability who use a lithium11 ion-powered wheelchair or mobility aid that meets all ap12 plicable safety standards for air travel should be consid13 ered to have violated such passenger’s rights under section 

14 41705 of title 49, United States Code, and therefore, all 

15 air carriers and foreign air carriers must maintain clear 

16 policies pertaining to lithium-ion battery-powered wheel17 chairs and mobility aids that are no more restrictive than 

18 all applicable safety standards. 

19 SEC. 3. ANNUAL SURVEY OF AIR CARRIER AND FOREIGN 

20 AIR CARRIER LITHIUM-ION BATTERY POLI21 CIES FOR WHEELCHAIRS AND MOBILITY 

22 AIDS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of 

24 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 41727. Requirements for air carrier and foreign air 

2 carrier lithium-ion battery policies for 

3 wheelchairs and mobility aids 

4 ‘‘(a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of the WHEELChairs on Air6 planes Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator of 

7 the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a sur8 vey on all air carriers and foreign air carriers to— 

9 ‘‘(1) compile the policies regarding lithium-ion 

10 battery-powered wheelchairs and mobility aids of 

11 each air carrier and foreign air carrier; and 

12 ‘‘(2) determine whether any of the policies de13 scribed in paragraph (1) are more restrictive than 

14 applicable standards in section 175.10 of title 49, 

15 Code of Federal Regulations. 

16 ‘‘(b) REPORT AND PUBLICATION.—Upon completion 

17 of each survey required under subsection (a), the Adminis18 trator shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) submit to the Committee on Transpor20 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent21 atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

22 and Transportation of the Senate a report con23 taining such survey; and 

24 ‘‘(2) publish on the website of the Department 

25 of Transportation in an accessible format the infor26 mation collected under subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(c) NONCOMPLIANT POLICIES.—An air carrier or 

2 foreign air carrier is considered to have a noncompliant 

3 policy if the Administrator determines, as part of the sur4 vey conducted under subsection (a), that such air carrier 

5 or foreign air carrier— 

6 ‘‘(1) does not have a policy for lithium-ion-pow7 ered wheelchairs or mobility aids in effect; or 

8 ‘‘(2) has a policy for lithium-ion-powered wheel9 chairs or mobility aids in effect that is more restric10 tive than standards in section 175.10 of title 49, 

11 Code of Federal Regulations. 

12 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION; UPDATES.—For any noncompli13 ant policy under subsection (c), the Administrator— 

14 ‘‘(1) shall notify the air carrier or foreign air 

15 carrier of the noncompliant status of the policy; 

16 ‘‘(2) shall require such air carrier or foreign air 

17 carrier to update any such policy before the date 

18 that is 180 days after the receipt of a notification 

19 under paragraph (1); and 

20 ‘‘(3) shall assess a civil penalty under section 

21 46301 for any policy of the air carrier or foreign air 

22 carrier that remains noncompliant beginning on such 

23 date. 


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1 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON COMPLIANT POLICY.—An air car2 rier or foreign air carrier that is required to update a non3 compliant policy under subsection (d)(2) shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) update such policy; and 

5 ‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator a report upon 

6 completion of the update that contains the updated 

7 policy.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 46301(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

10 by inserting ‘‘section 41727,’’ before ‘‘chapter 441’’. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap12 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 41726 the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘41727. Requirements for air carrier and foreign air carrier lithium-ion battery 

policies for wheelchairs and mobility aids.’’. 

Æ 


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