20 Mar 2026 Mark Mostert: Rolling Back Progress in the Skies

“For the last 40 years, passengers with disabilities have repeatedly been disappointed in the lack of progress around air travel,” writes Able Americans Senior Researcher Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D., in a commentary syndicated through InsideSources.

While “the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA) prohibits commercial airlines from discriminating against passengers with disabilities during air travel, …little has changed as the airline industry has largely ignored the ACAA and other Department of Transportation requirements,” he writes.

Mark does note that American Airlines is starting to make progress on the accessibility front, and you can read more about that in his commentary below.

For many years, people using motorized and non-motorized mobility devices — wheelchairs — have reported significant logistical and other problems when traveling by air. Challenges include wheelchair damage, loss and misplacement.

Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D.

Further issues arise when staff are inadequately trained and when airlines appear unresponsive to customer complaints. Unsurprisingly, passengers with disabilities often find traveling with wheelchairs inconvenient and frustrating.

For several decades, the disability community has called for major improvements in 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 requirements.

In 2022, in response to increased consumer complaints, the Transportation Department 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. In response to airlines’ violations, the Transportation Department revised requirements for airlines to accommodate people with disabilities, especially for wheelchair-users. The new rule is called the “Wheelchair Rule.”

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, the Transportation Department announced that it was rescinding the revised Wheelchair Rule, explaining that a decision to reinstate it would be delayed until the end of 2026.

The suspension of the rule is puzzling. For the last 40 years, passengers with disabilities have repeatedly been disappointed in the lack of progress around air travel because the passage of significant laws and regulations has not had the intended effect across multiple administrations.

The revised Wheelchair Rule was at least a small step in the right direction, and rescinding it makes little sense, especially given the vague explanations for the suspension.

The Transportation decision is equally baffling, given that the Wheelchair Rule does not require any federal or state spending; instead, placing the onus on the airline industry to make significant changes to its policies and practices related to passengers with disabilities.

However, given the long history of the general unenforceability of the ACAA and its later revisions and rules, it’s time for a significant rethink to support passengers with disabilities. A law passed almost 40 years ago largely remains unrealized.

Further, the private sector should be encouraged to provide solutions to the host of issues involved in disability-related air travel by accessing the immense buying power of passengers with disabilities (annually in the billions of dollars). From the airlines‘ point of view, brand protection is a significant part of airlines’ business models and should be considered in relation to passengers with disabilities.

In terms of brand protection, there are at least some small encouraging signs that things are changing, albeit slowly. American Airlines, previously targeted for violations, has implemented a specific wheelchair-tracking system using automated tags that specify 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, making the tracking chain visible across the entire airline. This replaces the antiquated use of handwritten tags, which are often lost or damaged.

Furthermore, American Airlines is adding wheelchair lifts at major hubs and implementing wheelchair movers to safely transport wheelchairs between terminals and aircraft. These changes will be in place by May 2027.

While these airline shifts to support passengers with disabilities are slow, there is evidence of progress. All airlines’ efforts should be enhanced by implementing the now-delayed Wheelchair Rule as soon as possible.