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Air travel for passengers with disabilities is often fraught with unnecessary and significant challenges. In the commentary below, Able Americans Senior Researcher Mark Mostert takes a closer look at the Airline Carrier Access Act, which was passed in 1986. In 2026, 40 years later, compliance with the Act and related Federal rules have largely been ignored by the airline industry. Overall, travel by plane remains difficult, with disability support being sparse and ineffective or even ignored altogether.
For many years, passengers with disabilities have been subjected to poor treatment by U.S. airlines. Poor communication, lack of staff training, emplaning and deplaning horror stories, extreme frustration and injury occur routinely. Perhaps the most prominent issue, however, relates to passengers with disabilities using both motorized and non-motorized mobility devices, where significant logistical and other problems when traveling add to a miserable flying experience. Challenges include wheelchair damage, loss, misplacement and excessive wait times for airlines to repair damaged chairs.
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D.
For several decades the disability community has called for major improvements around air travel, but laws and regulations have not fulfilled their promise.
The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA) prohibits commercial airlines from discriminating against passengers with disabilities during air travel, requiring them to engage in consistent nondiscriminatory treatment. However, little has changed as the airline industry has largely ignored the ACAA and other Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements.
In 2022, in response to increased consumer complaints, the DOT posted the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights to reinforce requirements under the ACAA.
Despite the ACAA and the Passenger Bill of Rights, challenges persist, resulting in several airlines being sanctioned by the DOT. Over the years, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, among others, have all been sued and have incurred significant legal penalties for noncompliance with the ACAA and relevant federal rules. Arguably, it seems that airline manufacturers and the airlines are willing to accept penalties while making minimal effort towards compliance.
In response to airlines’ violations, the DOT revised requirements for airlines to accommodate people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users, by issuing the “Wheelchair Rule” at the end of 2024.
The revisions of the Wheelchair Rule, proposed under the Biden administration, became effective on January 16, 2025. A month later, five U.S. airlines (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways Corp., Southwest Airlines and United Airlines) filed a lawsuit asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to review and dismiss the Wheelchair Rule revisions. Also in February 2025, DOT announced that it was rescinding the revised Wheelchair Rule, explaining that a decision to reinstate it would be delayed until the end of 2026. Again, passengers with disabilities lose.
Changes have been glacially slow, and quite minimal under the ACAA. The reticence of aircraft manufacturers and the airlines to comply with the ACAA is puzzling. While annual average wages for employed people with disabilities is lower ($62,286) than workers without disabilities ($78,602), they command considerable buying power. The annual disposable income of the disability community is approximately $490B, roughly on a par with the buying power of the African American ($501B) and Latino communities ($582B).
American Airlines, previously targeted by the DOT for violations, has recently implemented a specific wheelchair-tracking system using automated tags specifying device details (e.g., weight, travel itinerary, delivery location) from check-in to destination. In addition, all digital data around the automated tags is accessible to all frontline staff, thus making the tracking chain visible across the entire airline and the customer. This replaces the antiquated use of handwritten tags which are often lost or damaged. It is this first airline to implement these positive customer-facing changes.
In addition, American Airlines is adding wheelchair lifts at major hubs and is implementing the use of wheelchair movers to safely transport wheelchairs between terminals and aircraft. All these changes will be in place by May 2027.
However, American Airlines has not effectively communicated these changes to the disability community and should continue to publicize their efforts.
Passengers with disabilities are caught in the middle: minimal compliance with the ACAA, persistent hassles at every stage of the travel experience, the risk of serious injury when emplaning and deplaning, and clueless airline staff often result in a perfect storm generating high levels of anxiety, at the very least.
Given the current state of affairs, Able Americans suggests the following:
• The Trump administration should reinstate the 2026 Wheelchair Rule immediately. Within a reasonable time frame, airlines should be required to incorporate disability-friendly accommodations such as accessible aircraft bathrooms.
• Regardless of regulations, the private sector should be encouraged to provide solutions to the host of issues involved in disability-related air travel in order to access the immense buying power of passengers with disabilities.
• Given that brand protection is a significant part of airlines’ business models, increased pressure for significant changes need to be brought to bear at the corporate level. Airlines should more aggressively share their actual improvements with the disability community. Airlines and aircraft manufacturers should create Disability Access Committees on their boards to oversee policies, performance and programs related to accessibility for people with disabilities.
Able Americans has recently partnered with the Free Enterprise Project (FEP) to write shareholder proposals requesting that both Americans Airlines and Boeing incorporate these suggestions into their governance. These companies should meet the market demand that will only increase as the American population ages, rather than wait for regulatory action.
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher for the National Center’s Able Americans project.
Author: The National Center
