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Please circulate the following message as widely as appropriate.<br>
<br>
<a name="OLE_LINK7"></a>
On January 22, the United States Department of Transportation released a
long-awaited notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) concerning the
carriage of service animals in the aircraft cabin. The entire text of the
NPRM is posted below the meeting instructions. As a division of the
National Federation of the Blind and the most dynamic, influential voice
in the affairs of the nation’s guide dog users, the National Association
of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) will write the official comments for the
National Federation of the Blind. <br>
<br>
On Sunday, January 26 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern (7:00 p.m.; Central; 6:00 p.m.
Mountain; & 5:00 p.m. Pacific) the National Association of Guide Dog
Users will host a Town Hall meeting during our board of directors meeting
to solicit comments from other guide dog users concerning the proposed
changes in the implementing regulations of the Air Carrier Access Act. In
order to better advocate for you as a representative, collective voice,
we need to receive input from you. Whether you are a member or not, what
we say could shape the way you travel by air for years to come! You need
not be a member to join the meeting and offer your comments. <br>
<br>
<br>
Although traditional conference call dialing is available, we recommend
using the free Zoom app for the best audio quality and functionality. The
app is easy to use and is available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows,
and Mac.<br>
If you don't already have the app installed, you will be prompted to do
so when activating the below Zoom link. Installing the app ahead of time
will give you the opportunity to customize it to your preference.<br>
<br>
<a name="OLE_LINK2"></a>JOINING NAGDU MEETINGS<br>
There are now three ways to join NAGDU meetings:<br>
From any computer or Smart device, activate the following link and
follow the instructions: <br>
<a href="https://zoom.us/j/8136262789">https://zoom.us/j/8136262789</a>
<br>
<br>
You will need a microphone on your computer in order to have your voice
heard in the cloud!<br>
2. Tap one of these links from any
smart phone: <br>
+16699006833,,8136262789# or <br>
+14086380968,,8136262789#<br>
You can also add one of these numbers to your contacts list so you can
use them for future meetings!<br><br>
<br>
3. Manually call by dialing either (669) 900-6833 or (408) 638-0968, then
entering the ID 8136262789.<br>
<br>
ZOOM COMMANDS<br>
The following are a few commands which can be used during the meeting
based on how you joined.<br>
1. Telephone: *6 to mute or unmute. *9 to raise your hand.<br>
2. Windows: ALT+A to mute or unmute. ALT+Y to raise your hand.<br>
3. Mac: CMD+SHIFT+A to mute or unmute. OPTION+Y to raise your hand.<br>
4. Activate this link for a full list of commands from either Windows or
Mac:
<a href="https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205683899-Hot-Keys-and-Keyboard-Shortcuts-for-Zoom" eudora="autourl">
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205683899-Hot-Keys-and-Keyboard-Shortcuts-for-Zoom<br>
</a> <br>
CFR Part 382<br>
Air Carriers, Civil rights, Consumer protection, Individuals with
Disabilities, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements<br>
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department of
Transportation proposes to amend 14 CFR part 382 to read as follows:<br>
PART 382 NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR 1. The
authority citation for part 382 continues to read as follows:<br>
Authority: 49 U.S.C. §§ 41702, 41705, 41712, and 41310.<br>
2. section 382.3 1s amended by adding a definition of a service animal in
alphabetical order: § 382.3 What do the terms in this rule mean”?<br>
Service animal means a dog that is individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a
disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or
other mental disability. Emotional support animals, comfort animals,
companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service
animals for the purposes<br>
TRAVEL<br>
of this Part.<br>
A Service Animal Handler 1s a qualified individual with a disability who
receives assistance from a service animal(s) that does work or performs
tasks that are directly related to the individual’s disability, or a
safety assistant, as described in section 382.29(b), who accompanies an
individual with a disability traveling with a service animal(s).<br>
The service animal handler is responsible for keeping the animal under
control at all times, and caring for and supervising the service animal,
which includes toileting and feeding.<br>
3. Section 382.28 1s added to read as follows:<br>
§ 382.28 What assistance must carriers provide to passengers with a
disability required to check-in before the check-in time for the general
public?<br>
If you require a passenger with a disability to check-in in advance of
the check-in time for the general public, you must make personnel or
other employees trained to proficiency on the requirements of this Part
available promptly to assist the passenger at a designated location 1n
the airport.<br>
4. Section 382.27 1s amended to remove (c)(8) and remove (c)(9).<br>
5. Subpart EE 1s added to read as follows:<br>
Subpart EEService Animals<br>
§ 382.72 Must carriers allow a service animal to accompany a passenger
with a disability? You must allow a service animal to accompany a
passenger with a disability. You must not deny transportation to a
service animal on the basis that its carriage may offend or annoy carrier
personnel or persons traveling on the aircraft.<br>
§ 382.73 How many service animals must a carrier transport in the cabin
of aircraft?<br>
You are not required to accept more than two service animals for a single
passenger with a disability.<br>
§ 382.74 How do carriers determine if an animal Is a service animal?<br>
(a) You may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies
as a service animal.<br>
You may ask if the animal is required to accompany the passenger because
of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to
perform.<br>
You must not ask about the nature or extent of a person’s disability or
ask that the service animal demonstrate 1ts work or task.<br>
(b) You may observe the behavior of an animal.<br>
A trained service animal will remain under the control of its
handler.<br>
It does not run freely around an aircraft or an airport gate area, bark
or etrowl repeatedly at other persons or other animals on the aircraft or
1n the airport gate area, bite, jump on, or cause injury to people, or
urinate or defecate in the cabin or gate area. An animal that engages 1n
such disruptive behavior demonstrates that it has not been successfully
trained to behave properly in a public setting and carriers are not
required to treat it as a service animal, even if the animal performs an
assistive function for a passenger with a disability.<br>
(c) You may look for physical indicators on the animal to determine if
the animal is a service animal. A service animal must be under the
contro! of its owner.<br>
harness, leash, or other tether unless the owner 1s unable because of a
disability to use a harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a
harness, leash, or other tether would interfere with the service animal’s
safe, effective performance of work or tasks, 1n which case the service
animal must be otherwise under the handler’s control (e.g., voice
control, signals, or other effective means).<br>
§ 382.75 May a carrier require documentation from passengers with
disabilities seeking to<br>
travel with a service animal?<br>
A service animal must have a<br>
(a) If a passenger seeks to travel with a service animal, you may require
the passenger with a disability to provide you, as a condition of
permitting the service animal to travel in the cabin: (1) A current
(1.e., no older than one year from the date of the passenger’s scheduled
initial flight) completed copy of the U.S. Department of Transportation
Air Transportation Service Animal Health Form; and<br>
(2)<br>
A completed copy of the U.S. Department of Transportation Air
Transportation Service Animal Behavior and Training Attestation
Form.<br>
(b) On a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours or more, you may, as a
condition of permitting a service animal to travel in the cabin, require
the passenger with a disability traveling with the service animal to
confirm that the animal will not need to relieve itself on the flight or
that the animal can relieve itself in a way that does not create a health
or sanitation issue on the flight by providing a DOT Service Animal
Relief Attestation Form.<br>
(c) You are not permitted to require documentation of passengers with
disabilities traveling with service animals beyond completion of the
forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) of this (d) You must keep
copies of the forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) at each airport
you SCIVE.<br>
As a foreign carrier, you must keep copies of the forms at each airport
serving a flight you operate that begins or ends at a U.S. airport.<br>
(ec) If you have a website, you must make the blank forms identified 1n
paragraphs (a) and (b) available to passengers on your website in an
accessible format.<br>
(f)<br>
You must mail copies of the blank forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and
(b) to<br>
section.<br>
passengers upon request.<br>
§ 382.76 May a carrier require a service animal user to check-in at the
airport one hour before the check-in time at the airport for the general
public as a condition of travel to allow time to process the service
animal documentation?<br>
(a)<br>
You may require a passenger with a disability to check-in at the airport
one hour before the check-in time at the airport for the general public
as a condition of travel with a service animal to allow time to process
the service animal documentation and observe the animal so long as:<br>
(1) You designate a specific location at the airport where the passenger
could be promptly checked-in, the passenger’s service animal would be
observed, and the passenger’s service animal documentation would be
promptly reviewed by personnel trained to proficiency on the service
animal requirements of this Part; and<br>
(2) You have a similar or more stringent check-in requirement for
passengers traveling with their pets in the cabin.<br>
(b)<br>
If a passenger does not meet the check-in requirements you establish
consistent with this section, you must still provide the accommodation if
you can do so by making reasonable efforts, without delaying the
flight.<br>
§ 382.77 May carriers restrict the location and placement of service
animals on aircraft? (a) You must permit a service animal to accompany a
passenger with a disability on the passenger’s lap or in the foot space
immediately 1n front of the passenger’s seat, unless this location and
placement would be (1) inconsistent with safety requirements set by the
FAA or the foreign carrier’s government; or (2) encroaches into another
passenger’s space.<br>
(b) If a service animal cannot be accommodated on the passenger’s lap or
in the foot space immediately in front of the passenger’s seat without
encroaching into another passenger’s space,<br>
you must offer the passenger the opportunity to move with the animal to
another seat location within the same class of service, 1f available on
the aircraft, where the animal can be accommodated.<br>
You are not required to reseat other passengers to accommodate a service
animal except as required by Subpart F.<br>
(c) If there are no alternatives available to enable the passenger to
travel with the service animal in the cabin of the scheduled flight, you
must offer the passenger the opportunity to transport the service animal
in the cargo hold free of charge or travel on a later flight to the
extent there 1s space available on a later flight and the transport 1s
consistent with the safety requirements set by the FAA or a foreign
carrier’s government.<br>
§ 382.78 May carriers charge individuals with disabilities for the damage
thelr service While you cannot charge an individual with a disability for
transporting service animals, or for providing other services that this
rule requires, you may charge a passenger with a disability for damage
caused by his or her service animal so long as you normally charge
individuals without disabilities for similar kinds of damage.<br>
§ 382.79 Under what other circumstances may carriers refuse to provide
transportation to a service animal traveling with a passenger with a
disability?<br>
(a) You may deny transport to a service animal under the following
circumstances: (1) The animal poses a direct threat to the health or
safety of others (see definition in § 382.3);<br>
(2) The animal causes a significant disruption in the cabin or at an
airport gate area, or its behavior on the aircraft or at an airport gate
area indicates that it has not been trained to behave properly in public
(e.g., running freely, barking or growling repeatedly at other<br>
animal causes?<br>
persons on the aircraft, biting or jumping on people, or urinating or
defecating 1n the cabin or gate area); or<br>
(3) The animal’s carriage would violate FAA safety requirements or
applicable safety requirements of a U.S. territory or foreign government
(e.g., the animal 1s too large or heavy to be accommodated in the
cabin).<br>
(b) In determining whether to deny transport to a service animal on the
basis that the animal poses a direct threat under paragraph (a)(1), you
must make an individualized assessment based on reasonable judgment that
relies on the best available objective evidence to ascertain the nature,
duration, and severity of the risk; the probability that the potential
injury will actually occur; and whether reasonable modifications of
policies, practices, or procedure will mitigate (c) In determining
whether to deny transport to a service animal on the basis that the
animal has misbehaved and/or has caused a significant disruption in the
cabin under paragraph (a)(2), you must make an individualized assessment
based on reasonable judgment that relies on the best available objective
evidence to ascertain the probability that the misbehavior and/or
disruption will continue to occur; and whether reasonable modifications
of policies, practices, or procedure will mitigate the misbehavior and/or
the disruption.<br>
(d) In conducting the analysis required under paragraph (a)(1) and
(a)(2), you must not deny transportation to the service animal if there
are means available short of refusal that would mitigate the problem
(e.g., muzzling a barking service dog or taking other steps to comply
with animal health regulations needed to permit entry of the service
animal into a domestic territory or a foreign country).<br>
the risk.<br>
(ec) If you refuse to provide transportation to a service animal based on
any provision in this Part, you must provide the individual with a
disability accompanied by the service animal a written statement of the
reason for the refusal.<br>
This statement must include the specific basis for the carrier’s opinion
that the refusal meets the standards of paragraphs (a) through (c) of
this section or 1s otherwise specifically permitted by this Part. You
must provide this written statement to the individual with a disability
accompanied by the service animal either at the airport, or within 10
calendar days of the refusal of transportation.<br>
§ 382.80 May carriers impose additional restrictions on the transport of
service animals? Carriers are not permitted to establish additional
restrictions on the transport of service animals outside of those
specifically permitted by the provisions in this Part, unless required by
applicable FAA, TSA, or other Federal requirements or a foreign carrier’s
government.<br>
6. Section 382.117 1s removed.<br>
Issued this 22°° day of January, 2020, in Washington, D.C.<br>
/Original signed/<br>
Elaine L. Chao, secretary.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Marion<br>
<br>
<br>
Marion Gwizdala, President<br>
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
(813) 626-2789<br>
President@NAGDU.ORG<br>
<a href="http://nagdu.org/">Visit our website</a><br>
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The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind
people and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not
what holds you back.<br>
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