<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood Takes Action to<BR>Make Websites and Kiosks Accessible to
Air Travelers with Disabilities<BR><BR><BR>DOT 126-11<BR>Monday, September 19,
2011<BR>Contact: Bill Mosley<BR>Tel.: (202) 366-4570<BR><BR>U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood Takes Action to Make Websites<BR>and Kiosks Accessible to
Air Travelers with Disabilities<BR><BR>The U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), in its<BR>ongoing effort to ensure equal access to air transportation for
all<BR>travelers, today proposed a regulation that would require airlines
to<BR>make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities
and<BR>ensure that their ticket agents do the same. DOT also proposed
that<BR>airlines make automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports accessible
to<BR>passengers with disabilities. U.S. airports that jointly own, lease
or<BR>control such kiosks with airlines would also have responsibility
for<BR>ensuring the accessibility of automated airport kiosks.<BR><BR>“I
strongly believe that airline passengers with disabilities should<BR>have equal
access to the same services as all other travelers,” said<BR>U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood. “The Department of<BR>Transportation is committed to
ensuring that airline passengers are<BR>treated fairly, and today’s action is
part of that effort.”<BR><BR>Under the proposed rule, airlines would be required
to<BR>make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities over
a<BR>two-year period. Websites would be required to meet the standards
for<BR>accessibility contained in the widely accepted Website
Content<BR>Accessibility Guidelines. The requirement would apply to U.S.
and<BR>foreign carriers with websites marketing air transportation to
U.S.<BR>consumers for travel within, to or from the United States.
Small<BR>ticket agents would be exempt from the requirement to have
accessible<BR>websites.<BR><BR>In addition, airlines and airports that use
automated kiosks for<BR>services such as printing boarding passes and baggage
tags would have<BR>to ensure that any kiosk ordered 60 days after the rule takes
effect<BR>is accessible. Standards for accessibility would be based
on<BR>standards for automated transaction machines set by the Department
of<BR>Justice in its 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act rule.
This<BR>requirement would apply to U.S. and foreign carriers and U.S.
airports<BR>that own, lease or control automated airport kiosks at U.S.
airports<BR>with 10,000 or more annual boardings. The proposal asks for
comment<BR>on the cost and feasibility of retrofitting existing kiosks to
make<BR>them accessible.<BR><BR>This proposal is the latest in a series of
DOT<BR>rulemakings to implement the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). In
the<BR>ACAA rule issued in May 2008, DOT required carriers, among
other<BR>things, to make discounts available to passengers with
disabilities<BR>who cannot use inaccessible web sites and therefore must
make<BR>telephone or in-person reservations. Also, if passengers
with<BR>disabilities are unable to use the kiosk because it is not
accessible,<BR>carriers are required to provide equivalent service, such as
having an<BR>airline employee assist in operating the kiosk. However,
these<BR>provisions do not give passengers with disabilities, especially
those<BR>with visual and mobility impairments, independent access to
the<BR>websites and kiosks, and in this final rule the Department
committed<BR>to exploring how to make websites and kiosks
accessible.<BR><BR>Comments on the proposal are due within 60 days of
publication in the<BR>Federal Register. The proposal is available on the
Internet at<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
href="http://www.regulations.gov"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">www.regulations.gov</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman">, docket DOT-OST-2011-0177. In addition,
the<BR>Department has partnered with Cornell University’s
eRulemaking<BR>Initiative (CeRI), Regulation Room, designed to improve the
public’s<BR>ability to understand and participate in this rulemaking process.
A<BR>goal of the CeRI team is to make Regulation Room as accessible to
as<BR>many users as possible. This partnership supports President
Obama’s<BR>open-government initiative. People wanting to discuss and learn
about<BR>this proposed rule should go to </FONT><A
href="http://www.regulationroom.org"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">www.regulationroom.org</FONT></A></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.<BR><BR>-END-<BR><BR>The
White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW · Washington DC 20500
·<BR>202-456-1111</FONT></FONT><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>