Toilet Typo

I was browsing on-line the other day when I happened across an article about airline access. Basically the article focused on the hardships of airline travel for people with disabilities. I felt it was a good opinion type piece, however I was a bit dismayed when I noted the following factual error.

The writer stated, "According to DOT, airplanes with more than one aisle or more than 60 seats shall have an accessible lavatory where the disabled passenger and a personal assistant have enough room to maneuver."

Actually the ACAA only requires "accessible" lavatories on twin-aisle aircraft. The writer apparently misread the regulations, which do require on-board wheelchairs on any aircraft which has over 60 seats AND an accessible lavatory. Nowhere in the ACAA does it state that aircraft with over 60 seats are required to have an accessible lavatory.

Furthermore, nowhere in the ACAA does it state that the accessible lavatory has to be large enough for the passenger AND their personal assistant to maneuver.

So why do I care? It's not that I gain any type of personal satisfaction from finding factual errors like these; in fact I feel it takes away from what otherwise could have been a very good article. It's just that I hate to see misinformaton spread, and that's what happens when factual errors like these are reported. I'd hate for people to think that they were actually going to find an accessible lavatory on all aircraft with over 60 seats. It just ain't so.

Truth is, accessible lavatories are few and far between (and are only required on twin-aisle aircraft). Most only have (barely) enough room for one person, and only a few models on select 777s allow for a lateral transfer to the toilet. And according the ACAA, they are within code.

So, when you read something like this -- something that may substantially affect you when you travel -- check it out for yourself to make sure the facts are correct. Just because somebody writes something doesn't mean it's true.

Check out for yourself, what the ACAA has to say about accessible on-board lavatories (see section § 382.21 Aircraft accessibility).
airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/382SHORT.htm

It pays to be educated about your travel rights.