Are New Disability Accommodation Rules for Airlines Coming?

Takeaways

• Airline workers whose job duties include assisting passengers with wheelchairs or scooters had to complete hands-on training by June 17, 2026. The training covers safe transfers, aisle chairs, and proper handling of mobility devices.
• Some protections, including yearly refresher training and rules for damaged wheelchairs, are paused while the Department of Transportation reviews the rules.
• Flight-attendant training for accessible onboard bathrooms has also been delayed, but the required bathroom upgrades are still moving forward.
• Passengers should confirm their assistance needs before traveling and keep records of any problems.
• The next major development is expected when the Department of Transportation proposes changes under Wheelchair Rule II in 2027.

For travelers who rely on wheelchairs or scooters, air travel has too often involved damaged equipment, unsafe transfers, and a loss of independence. New federal requirements aim to address these problems, but important parts of the rules remain unsettled.

One requirement is already in effect: Airline employees and contractors who help passengers with mobility devices were required to complete new hands-on training by June 17, 2026. That deadline is part of a bigger, still-unfolding story about how much assistance airlines are required to provide travelers with disabilities and how much of that assistance has been paused.

What Changed in June 2026

The training requirement comes from a Department of Transportation rule finalized in late 2024, commonly referred to as the “Wheelchair Rule.” As of the June deadline, any airline employee or contractor whose job duties include physically assisting passengers with disabilities or handling mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters must have completed hands-on, in-person training.

The training is meant to cover how to:

• Safely use the narrow “aisle chair” that moves passengers to and from their seats
• Communicate with and take direction from the passenger being assisted
• Transfer someone between their own wheelchair, the aisle chair, and the aircraft seat
• Properly load, secure, and configure mobility devices for each aircraft type

Workers also must then demonstrate their understanding through a skills check or similar assessment.

Why It Matters

Mishandling of mobility equipment is common enough that the federal government tracks it. According to federal data, U.S. airlines mishandled nearly 10,000 wheelchairs and scooters in 2025. Advocates have also described passengers being physically injured during boarding or deplaning when staff weren’t properly trained to move them. The new rule was written to reduce both problems by making hands-on training, not just paperwork, a legal requirement.

What’s Been Paused and Why

Not every part of the 2024 rule is being enforced right now. Industry trade group Airlines for America and several major carriers, including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United, challenged certain provisions of the new rule in a lawsuit. Additionally, the Trump administration has since opened a new rulemaking process it calls “Wheelchair Rule II” to reconsider several specific provisions of the 2024 rule. Until that process wraps up, the Department of Transportation says it will not enforce the following:

• How often refresher training must happen (the original rule called for yearly training)
• Airlines’ presumed liability when a wheelchair or scooter comes back damaged
• Required predeparture notices telling passengers how to file a complaint
• Reimbursement for passengers who must book a pricier flight because their device won’t fit on a smaller plane

This enforcement pause has now been extended from December 31, 2026, to April 30, 2027.

A Related Delay, This One for Flight Attendants

Separately, a different accessibility rule, this one focused on making onboard bathrooms more user-friendly for passengers with disabilities, was also set to require annual flight-attendant training, starting in October 2026, on tasks like operating onboard wheelchairs used to reach the lavatory.

In early August 2026, the Department of Transportation said it was pushing that flight-attendant training requirement back as well, as part of the same broader review, with a new informal target of April 2027. The physical bathroom upgrades required under that rule are not affected, only the training timeline.

The Bottom Line

The June 17 hands-on training requirement is currently in effect, but other consumer protections, including how often that training must be refreshed and what happens when equipment is damaged, are on hold while regulators review and rewrite them. Passengers who use mobility devices should confirm assistance needs with their airline before traveling and keep records of any problems.

The next major development is expected when the Department of Transportation proposes changes under Wheelchair Rule II in 2027.

Additional Reading

For additional reading on issues related to rights for travelers with disabilities, check out the following articles:

• What Is the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?
• Bill of Rights for Airline Travelers With Disabilities
• Rideshare Apps: Pros and Cons for People With Disabilities
• SSA Liberalizes Rules on When Special Needs Trusts Can Reimburse Family Members for Travel
• Disability Rights and Service Animals
• A Warning for Medicaid Beneficiaries Traveling Out of State
• Infrastructure Bill to Make Public Transit More Accessible