[Nfbmt] National Federation of the Blind Sues Department of Transportation Over Airline Regulations

[James Aldrich]

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Department of Transportation Over Airline Regulations


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org



National Federation of the Blind Sues Department of Transportation Over 
Airline Regulations



Regulations on Access to Kiosks Violate Federal Law, Organization Says



Washington, D.C. (January 22, 2014):The National Federation of the 
Blind (NFB), the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind 
people, filed suit (case number: 1:14-cv-00085) in the United States 
District Court for the District of Columbia today against the United 
States Department of Transportation (DOT).  The suit challenges 
regulations, issued by the DOT under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), 
which purport to require that airline check-in kiosks be made 
accessible to airline passengers who are blind.  The regulations, which 
took effect on December 12, 2013, require only 25 percent of airport 
check-in kiosks to be accessible to blind passengers by ten years from 
that date. The NFB maintains that this requirement fails to implement 
the ACAA as Congress intended.  The ACAA prohibits discrimination 
against passengers with disabilities by airlines.  The legislative 
record shows that when it passed the law, Congress intended that the 
only permissible restrictions on access to air travel would be directly 
related to the safety of all passengers.  Among other things, by 
allowing continued discrimination against the blind by the airlines on 
a matter not related to safety, the agency violated the law, the suit 
claims.  Kiosks can be made accessible to the blind in the same way 
that ATMs and other customer service devices (such as ticket-purchasing 
kiosks used by Amtrak and other transit agencies) are already made 
accessible: by affixing Braille labels, installing headphone jacks, and 
adding speech software that provides audio prompts to the user.  The 
NFB’s president, Dr. Marc Maurer, and director of advocacy and policy, 
Anil Lewis, both of whom are blind and fly frequently on organization 
business, are also named as plaintiffs.



Dr. Maurer said: “The technology to make airline check-in kiosks 
accessible to blind people is readily available; similar technology is 
already deployed on ATMs, other kiosks, and similar devices nationwide, 
and has been for many years.  Yet the Department of Transportation 
violated the law by allowing continued discrimination against blind 
passengers based on spurious assertions by the airline industry that 
making kiosks accessible will cost too much and take a decade.  
Furthermore, the regulations will only require 25 percent of these 
kiosks to be made accessible; apparently 75 percent discrimination 
against blind people is acceptable to the DOT.  The agency also failed 
to make the information it gathered from airlines available until these 
regulations were issued, which also violated federal law and denied 
blind Americans the opportunity to challenge the airlines’ assertions.  
We are therefore asking the court to strike down the regulations and 
order the agency to restart the rulemaking process.”





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About the National Federation of the Blind


 The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest, largest, and 
most influential nationwide membership organization of blind people in 
the United States.  Founded in 1940, the NFB advocates for the civil 
rights and equality of blind Americans, and develops innovative 
education, technology, and training programs to provide the blind and 
those who are losing vision with the tools they need to become 
independent and successful.