USNews: DOT Changes Accessibility Rules

Pete Buttigieg and his Department of Transportation just made up new rules to make air travel more expensive and unpleasant for everyone.  How can federal bureaucrats do this with no oversight or accountability?

The new rule, authorized under the Air Carrier Access Act, requires airlines to make lavatories on any new single-aisle aircraft large enough to allow a passenger with a disability and an attendant to maneuver within the aircraft’s lavatory.

The rule specifies that the airplane bathroom has to be large enough for two 6′ 2″ men to maneuver a wheelchair.  On a Boeing 737, that means either in the back of the aircraft, reducing the total number of bathrooms available or a dozen passenger seats must be removed.  Fewer passengers means that each flight is more expensive and less efficient.

There doesn’t seem to be any limit on the size of the commercial aircraft.  Where does this bathroom fit in a CRJ-200 that holds 50 passengers?

People already have sex in airplane bathrooms.  In this large room, more people can join in.

Lay the groundwork for a future rule that would allow passengers to stay in their own wheelchairs when they fly.

Airlines currently have narrow wheelchairs to use when necessary.  This rule will require eliminating an entire column of seats.  A Boeing 737, with six seats across, will only have 5 seats, with no extra room for the people in the seats.  This wide aisle will be chaotic when people are departing the aircraft.