These 10 landings are airlines

• Airline passengers with disabilities have been particularly affected by this winter’s flight chaos.

• In July, the US Department of Transportation published a “Bill of Rights” for travelers with disabilities.

• Here are the accommodations that airlines are required to provide as outlined in the Air Carrier Access Act.

From airlines breaking custom wheelchairs to staff “abandoning” wheelchair users at airports during flight delays, this summer’s travel chaos has made flying a more challenging experience for some people with disabilities.

A total of 1,110 wheelchairs and scooters — 1.53% of all wheelchairs and scooters — were mishandled by U.S. airlines in May, according to the Transportation Department. In the same period last year, 601 or 1.18% of all wheelchairs and scooters were wrongly seized.

In July, the agency released a “Bill of Rights” for Airline Passengers with Disabilities — here’s a brief list of the 10 basic rights protected by the Air Transportation Services Act, as outlined by the DOT:

1. Right to be treated with dignity and respect: The airline may not refuse service to passengers due to their disability or impose restrictions that do not apply to other passengers. Airline employees must receive disability training at least once every three years.

2. Right to receive information about services and aircraft capacity and limitations: Airlines must provide information to passengers with disabilities when asked about specific aircraft scheduled to fly. This includes the availability of aircraft storage for ancillary equipment and any restrictions on whether or not the aircraft has an accessible lavatory.

3. The right to access information: Passengers who require visual and hearing assistance should have “quick access” to the gate, ticket counter, customer service desk and the same travel information as other passengers on the plane. Airline staff should be trained to acknowledge handling requests.

4. Right to Accessible Airport Facilities: Airlines must ensure that terminal facilities that they own, lease, or control are readily accessible and usable by passengers with disabilities at U.S. airports and at international airports. This includes ensuring an accessible route between the gate and the boarding area, providing ramps or mechanical lifts when step access is not possible, and providing animal handling areas in airport services.

5. Right to Assistance at Airports:- Passengers with disabilities must be provided with “immediate and timely” assistance at the airport. This includes assistance with transportation between gates to make connections, assistance with pick-up from an arriving or departing flight, assistance with accessing the ticket counter, baggage claim, and restrooms. The airline may not leave a non-independent passenger unattended in a wheelchair or other device for more than 30 minutes.

6. Right to assistance on board:- The airline must allow a passenger with a disability who needs extra time or assistance at the gate to board, place accessibility equipment or be seated before other passengers. Once a passenger has boarded, crew members should assist with moving to the restroom or unloading luggage upon request.

7. Right to travel with an assistive device or service animal: Airlines must allow assistive devices such as wheelchairs in the cabin as carry-ons free of charge in accordance with safety regulations. If an airline loses, damages or damages a wheelchair or other assistive device, it must provide compensation “up to the original purchase price of the wheelchair or device.”

8. Right to accept seats:- Airlines must provide certain seats (when available in the same “class of service”) to passengers with disabilities who require a portable aisle armrest, bulkhead seat, larger legroom, or adjacent seating.

9. Right to Accessible Aircraft Features: New airplanes delivered to US airlines after April 1992 and to foreign airlines after May 2010 must have the following accessibility features: (1) removable aisle arms on half seats, if the airplane has 30 or more seats, (2) advance storage in the cabin for wheelchairs. For aircraft with 100 or more seats, available space, (3) at least one accessible lavatory, if the aircraft has more than one aisle, and (4) when a wheelchair on board is requested to access an on-board lavatory.

10. Right to Redress Matters Related to Disability:- Airlines must respond directly to and respond to passenger-related complaints in writing within 30 days. The airline is not required to resolve a complaint submitted more than 45 days after the occurrence of the incident unless the complaint is forwarded to the airline by DOT.

Read the original article on Business Insider