[Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Fw: National Federation of the Blind Sues Department of Transportation Over Airline Regulations

[Sherri]

Just passing this along.

Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Jessica Freeh
To: flmom2006 at gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 1:30 PM
Subject: National Federation of the Blind Sues 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.


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National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
United States
410 659-9314