Document ID: DOT-OST-2010-0054-0011
Agency: dot
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Reporting Requirements for Disability-Related Complaints
Posted Date: 2022-10-13T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62180-62181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22282]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID Number: DOT-OST-2010-0054]

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

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

ACTION: Notice of submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as 
amended, the Department is forwarding the Information Collection 
Request (ICR) described below to OMB for review. DOT published a 
Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on the following collections of information on May 10, 2022 
(87 FR 28101). DOT received two comments on the 60-day notice which are 
addressed below. DOT considered the comments and concluded that it will 
not make any changes to the information collections based on the 
comments before it submits the ICR to OMB for review. This notice is to 
allow the public an additional 30 days from the date of this notice to 
submit comments to the recently published application to reinstate OMB 
Control Number: 2105-0551, ``Reporting Requirements for Disability-
Related Complaints.''

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this 
proposal. Written comments should be submitted by November 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Management and Budget, 
Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of the Secretary of 
Transportation, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Comments may 
also be sent via email to OMB at the following address: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wood, Office of Aviation Consumer 
Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, Washington, DC 20590, Telephone Number (202) 366-9342 (voice), 
(202) 366-7152 (fax), [email protected] (email). Arrangements to 
receive this document in an alternative format may be made by 
contacting the above-named individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0551.
    Title: Reporting Requirements for Disability-Related Complaints.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of information collections.
    Background: The Department requires U.S. and foreign air carriers 
operating to, from and within the United States that conduct passenger-
carrying service with at least one aircraft with a designed seating 
capacity of more than 60 passengers (large aircraft) to record 
complaints that they receive alleging inadequate accessibility or 
discrimination on the basis of disability. The carriers must also 
categorize these complaints according to the type of disability and 
nature of complaint, prepare a summary report annually of the 
complaints received during the preceding calendar year, submit the 
report to the Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, and 
retain copies of correspondence and records of action taken on the 
reported complaints for three years. Carriers are also required to 
submit their annual report via the World Wide Web except if the carrier 
can demonstrate an undue burden by doing so and receives permission 
from the Department to submit it in an alternative manner. The first 
required report of disability-related complaints was due to the 
Department on January 31, 2005, and covered disability-related 
complaints received by carriers during calendar year 2004. Carriers 
have since submitted subsequent reports to the Department by the last 
Monday in January for the prior calendar year.
    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing 
regulations, 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 1320, require 
Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public comment on 
information collection activities before OMB may approve paperwork 
packages. On May 10, 2022, DOT published a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register soliciting comment on the ICRs for which the agency seeks OMB 
approval. See 87 FR 28101. DOT received two comments after issuing this 
notice. One of the comments, filed by a member of the public, addressed 
modifications of the DOT air service complaint form which is covered 
under a different OMB control number than is addressed by this notice. 
The other comment, filed by Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), stated 
that the collection of information on disability-related complaints is 
necessary for the proper performance of DOT because DOT is responsible 
for enforcing the requirements of the Air Carrier Access Act. PVA noted 
that the collection of the information indicates which airlines receive 
the most complaints and what types of discrimination are occurring 
during air travel. PVA stated that without the collection and reporting 
of the complaints, airlines may not be held responsible for improper 
procedures, discrimination, and unlawful treatment of individuals with 
disabilities. In addition, PVA stated that the information collected by 
DOT is too generalized and ambiguous to provide passengers with 
disabilities information about which airlines provide the best 
experience for passengers with disabilities and appropriately to 
determine the issues that such passengers experience. PVA also stated 
that the current burden on airlines to collect and categorize the 
complaints can be alleviated by adding more descriptive options in 
their complaint forms for passengers to categorize the complaint. For 
example, PVA stated that airlines could use more specific check boxes 
or indicators for passengers to select and categorize the complaint. In 
addition, PVA stated that many online complaint forms are difficult for 
passengers to find, resulting in passengers calling the airline to file

[[Page 62181]]

their complaint, and more burden on the airline.
    DOT will consider the information provided by PVA for the purposes 
of informing future potential rulemaking activities that would be 
necessary to modify the requirements that apply to the airlines' 
collection and submission of disability-related complaint information 
under 14 CFR part 382. Therefore, DOT has concluded that it will not 
make any changes to the information collections based on the comments 
before submitting the ICR to OMB for review. However, DOT encourages 
reporting carriers to consider PVA's comments on methods to reduce 
burdens associated with categorizing complaints and to consider 
adopting burden reducing measures that are consistent with the 
regulatory requirements. The Department announces that these 
information collection activities have been re-evaluated and certified 
under 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and is forwarding to OMB for review and approval 
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12(c).
    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30-day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44,983 (Aug. 29, 1995). Therefore, respondents should submit 
their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication to best 
ensure their full consideration. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 
44,983 (Aug. 29, 1995).
    For each information collection, the title, a description of the 
respondents, and an estimate of the annual recordkeeping and periodic 
reporting burden are set forth below.\1\
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    \1\ DOT did not use calendar year 2020 data for its estimates 
because airline operations were not representative of a typical year 
due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on air transportation 
that year.
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    (1) Requirement to record and categorize complaints received.
    Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating 
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service 
with at least one large aircraft.
    Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of 
respondents that reported for Calendar Years (CYs) 2018, 2019, and 
2021).
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 0-2,431 hours (145,905 
minutes) a year for each respondent (estimated time to record and 
categorize each complaint (15 minutes) multiplied by the lowest number 
of complaints and the average of the highest number of complaints 
received during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (0-9,727)).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 7,854 hours (471,255 minutes) for 
all respondents (time to record and categorize each complaint (15 
minutes) multiplied by the average total number of complaints received 
during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (31,417) for all respondents).
    Frequency: 0-9,727 complaints (The range of the lowest number of 
complaints and an average of the highest number of complaints received 
by any respondent during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
    (2) Requirement to prepare and submit annual report.
    Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating 
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service 
with at least one large aircraft.
    Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of 
respondents that reported for CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 30 minutes a year per each 
respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 88 hours (5,280 minutes) for all 
respondents (estimate annual burden [30 minutes] multiplied by the 
total number of respondents (176)).
    Frequency: 1 report to DOT per year for each respondent.
    (3) Requirement to retain correspondences and records of action 
taken on all disability-related complaints.
    Respondents: U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating 
to and from the United States that conduct passenger-carrying service 
with at least one large aircraft.
    Number of Respondents: 176 (the average of the total number of 
respondents that reported for CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021).
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: 0-811 hours (0-48,635 
minutes) for each respondent (the estimated time it will take for each 
respondent to retain or save the correspondences and records of action 
taken on disability-related complaints (5 minutes) multiplied by the 
lowest number of complaints and the average of the highest number of 
complaints received per respondent during CYs 2018, 2019, and 2021 (0-
9,727)).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,618 hours (157,085 minutes) for 
all respondents (time to retain or save the correspondences and records 
of action taken on disability-related complaints (5 minutes) multiplied 
by the average total number of complaints received during CYs 2018, 
2019, and 2021 (31,417) for all respondents.
    Frequency: 0-9,727 complaints per year for each respondent (The 
range of the lowest number of complaints and an average of the highest 
number of complaints received by any respondent during CYs 2018, 2019, 
and 2021).

Comments Invited

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. 
All comments will also become a matter of public record on the docket.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 59 CFR 1.48.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on this 7th day of October 2022.
Livaughn Chapman Jr.,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of Aviation Consumer 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-22282 Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
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