[Travelandtourism] FYI, FRONTIER AIRLINES FINED.....

[STEPHANIELSCOTT at aol.com]

(http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-national/index.php?option=com_adagency&controller=adagencyAds&task=click&cid=67&bid=53&aid=6) 


 
_Frontier  Airlines Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with 
Disabilities _ 
(http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-national/32619-frontier-airlines-fined-for-violating-rules-protecting-air-travelers-with-disab
ilities.html) 

 
Friday, 13 April 2012 15:06 Press Release Latest National News 
Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--April 13, 2012. The U.S.  Department of 
Transportation (DOT) today assessed a civil penalty of $50,000  against Frontier 
Airlines for violating rules protecting air travelers with  disabilities.

 

“The Department of Transportation is committed to ensuring that airline  
passengers are treated fairly, and passengers with disabilities are no  
exception,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “At DOT, we take our  
aviation disability rules seriously and will continue to take enforcement 
action  when airlines violate these rules.” 
An investigation by DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office into complaints filed 
 against Frontier found that the carrier violated the DOT regulation 
implementing  the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) with respect to its transportation 
of an  individual with a disability.  
The individual filing the complaint, a quadriplegic who has no use of his  
arms, legs, or torso, is unable to sit upright in an aircraft seat without  
support and restraint. Frontier failed to provide him appropriate notice, in 
 advance of the return portion of his round-trip transportation, that 
Federal  Aviation Administration requirements prohibit seatbelt extenders as 
restraint  devices for his upper body, even though the carrier had permitted him 
to use the  devices in three prior flights, including the outbound flight 
of the trip in  question. On the return flight, the individual did not have 
an alternative  restraint method and was removed from the flight. The 
Department’s disability  regulation requires airlines to provide passengers who 
notify them that they use  a wheelchair for boarding, as this individual did, 
of any limit on the carriers’  ability to accommodate passengers with a 
disability, even if the passengers do  not request the information.  
Frontier also violated the Department’s disability regulation by failing to 
 provide the passenger with adequate assistance in pre-boarding and getting 
on  and off the plane, despite receiving multiple advance notices that the  
individual had a disability and needed assistance prior to his flight. DOT  
requires airlines to provide assistance to passengers with disabilities 
while  boarding and deplaning aircraft, including the use of wheelchairs, 
ramps,  mechanical lifts and service personnel where needed.  
The consent order is available on the Internet at _www.regulations.gov_ 
(http://www.regulations.gov) , docket  DOT-OST-2012-0002.  
source  dot.gov