49 U.S.C. § 41705

Discrimination against individuals with disabilities

“Hereafter, none of the funds made available under this Act or any other Act, may be used to implement, carry out, or enforce any regulation issued under section 41705 of title 49 , United States Code, including any regulation contained in part 382 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or any other provision of law (including any Act of Congress, regulation, or Executive order or any official guidance or correspondence thereto), that requires or encourages an air carrier (as that term is defined in section 40102 of title 49 , United States Code) to, on intrastate or interstate air transportation (as those terms are defined in section 40102 of title 49 , United States Code)—

(a) In General.—

In providing air transportation, an air carrier, including (subject to section 40105(b)) any foreign air carrier, may not discriminate against an otherwise qualified individual on the following grounds:

(1)

the individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

(2)

the individual has a record of such an impairment.

(3)

the individual is regarded as having such an impairment.

(b) Each Act Constitutes Separate Offense.—

For purposes of section 46301, a separate violation occurs under this section for each individual act of discrimination prohibited by subsection (a).

(1) In general.—

The Secretary shall—

(A)

not later than 120 days after the receipt of any complaint of a violation of this section or a regulation prescribed under this section, investigate such complaint; and

(B)

provide, in writing, to the individual that filed the complaint and the air carrier or foreign air carrier alleged to have violated this section or a regulation prescribed under this section, the determination of the Secretary with respect to—

(i)

whether the air carrier or foreign air carrier violated this section or a regulation prescribed under this section;

(ii)

the facts underlying the complaint; and

(iii)

any action the Secretary is taking in response to the complaint.

(2) Publication of data.—

The Secretary shall publish disability-related complaint data in a manner comparable to other consumer complaint data.

(3) Review and report.—

The Secretary shall regularly review all complaints received by air carriers alleging discrimination on the basis of disability and shall report annually to Congress on the results of such review.

(4) Technical assistance.—

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall—

(A)

implement a plan, in consultation with the Department of Justice, the United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, and the National Council on Disability, to provide technical assistance to air carriers and individuals with disabilities in understanding the rights and responsibilities set forth in this section; and

(B)

ensure the availability and provision of appropriate technical assistance manuals to individuals and entities with rights or responsibilities under this section.

until 90 days after submission to the Congress and the Secretary of a peer-reviewed scientific study that determines that there are severe reactions by passengers to peanuts as a result of contact with very small airborne peanut particles of the kind that passengers might encounter in an aircraft.”

( Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e) , July 5, 1994 , 108 Stat. 1141 ; Pub. L. 106–181, title VII, § 707(a) , Apr. 5, 2000 , 114 Stat. 158 ; Pub. L. 108–176, title V, § 503(d)(1) , Dec. 12, 2003 , 117 Stat. 2559 ; Pub. L. 118–63, title V , §§ 549, 550(c), May 16, 2024 , 138 Stat. 1212 .)