US airlines challenge Biden wheelchair passenger protection rule

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Major U.S. airlines and a trade association have challenged a Biden administration rule issued in December requiring new consumer protections for disabled passengers using wheelchairs.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and airline trade group Airlines for America challenge the rule in the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that set stricter standards for accommodating passengers with wheelchairs and requires carriers to reimburse passengers for damage to wheelchairs.

Then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last year the rule was the biggest expansion of rights for wheelchair users since 2008 and makes it easier for USDOT to hold airlines accountable for damage to wheelchairs or any delay in their return.

Airlines for America said carriers have been making meaningful progress enhancing services for passengers with disabilities since signing a commitment in 2022.

The airline group said it was not challenging all aspects of the regulation but said "certain provisions of the final rule go beyond the USDOT’s statutory authority, violate the Administrative Procedure Act and represent regulatory overreach by the Biden Administration."

The USDOT rule says airlines must return checked wheelchairs in the same condition or face the presumption they are responsible, but carriers can challenge it.

Under the final rule, airlines must notify passengers whose wheelchairs have been mishandled of their rights, provide loaners and quickly repair or replace broken wheelchairs as well as reimburse passengers for transportation costs incurred as a result of a passenger’s wheelchair being delayed by the airline.

In October, USDOT fined American Airlines a record $50 million for its treatment of disabled passengers, including failing to provide some with adequate assistance and mishandling wheelchairs.

USDOT says an estimated 5.5 million Americans use a wheelchair and data shows that for every 100 wheelchairs or scooters transported on domestic flights at least one is damaged, delayed, or lost.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)

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