[Nfbnet-members-list] Urgent National Town Hall Meeting concerning Service Animals in Air Travel

[Marion Gwizdala, President]

Please circulate the following message as widely as appropriate.

                 On January 22, the United States 
Department of Transportation released a 
long-awaited notice of proposed rule making 
(NPRM) concerning the carriage of service animals 
in the aircraft cabin. The entire text of the 
NPRM is posted below the meeting instructions. As 
a division of the National Federation of the 
Blind and the most dynamic, influential voice in 
the affairs of the nation’s guide dog users, the 
National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) 
will write the official comments for the National Federation of the Blind.

                 On Sunday, January 26 at 8:00 
p.m. Eastern (7:00 p.m.; Central; 6:00 p.m. 
Mountain; & 5:00 p.m. Pacific) the National 
Association of Guide Dog Users will host a Town 
Hall meeting during our board of directors 
meeting to solicit comments from other guide dog 
users concerning the proposed changes in the 
implementing regulations of the Air Carrier 
Access Act. In order to better advocate for you 
as a representative, collective voice, we need to 
receive input from you. Whether you are a member 
or not, what we say could shape the way you 
travel by air for years to come! You need not be 
a member to join the meeting and offer your comments.


Although traditional conference call dialing is 
available, we recommend using the free Zoom app 
for the best audio quality and functionality. The 
app is easy to use and is available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, and Mac.
If you don't already have the app installed, you 
will be prompted to do so when activating the 
below Zoom link. Installing the app ahead of time 
will give you the opportunity to customize it to your preference.

JOINING NAGDU MEETINGS
There are now three ways to join NAGDU meetings:
 From any computer or Smart device, activate the 
following link and follow the instructions:
<https://zoom.us/j/8136262789>https://zoom.us/j/8136262789

You will need a microphone on your computer in 
order to have your voice heard in the cloud!
2.       Tap one of these links from any smart phone:
+16699006833,,8136262789# or
+14086380968,,8136262789#
You can also add one of these numbers to your 
contacts list so you can use them for future meetings!


3. Manually call by dialing either (669) 900-6833 
or (408) 638-0968, then entering the ID 8136262789.

ZOOM COMMANDS
The following are a few commands which can be 
used during the meeting based on how you joined.
1. Telephone: *6 to mute or unmute. *9 to raise your hand.
2. Windows: ALT+A to mute or unmute. ALT+Y to raise your hand.
3. Mac: CMD+SHIFT+A to mute or unmute. OPTION+Y to raise your hand.
4. Activate this link for a full list of commands 
from either Windows or Mac: 
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205683899-Hot-Keys-and-Keyboard-Shortcuts-for-Zoom

CFR Part 382
Air Carriers, Civil rights, Consumer protection, 
Individuals with Disabilities, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the 
Department of Transportation proposes to amend 14 
CFR part 382 to read as follows:
PART 382 ­NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF 
DISABILITY IN AIR 1. The authority citation for 
part 382 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. §§ 41702, 41705, 41712, and 41310.
2. section 382.3 1s amended by adding a 
definition of a service animal in alphabetical 
order: § 382.3 What do the terms in this rule mean”?
Service animal means a dog that is individually 
trained to do work or perform tasks for the 
benefit of a qualified individual with a 
disability, including a physical, sensory, 
psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental 
disability. Emotional support animals, comfort 
animals, companionship animals, and service 
animals in training are not service animals for the purposes
TRAVEL
of this Part.
A Service Animal Handler 1s a qualified 
individual with a disability who receives 
assistance from a service animal(s) that does 
work or performs tasks that are directly related 
to the individual’s disability, or a safety 
assistant, as described in section 382.29(b), who 
accompanies an individual with a disability traveling with a service animal(s).
The service animal handler is responsible for 
keeping the animal under control at all times, 
and caring for and supervising the service 
animal, which includes toileting and feeding.
3. Section 382.28 1s added to read as follows:
§ 382.28 What assistance must carriers provide to 
passengers with a disability required to check-in 
before the check-in time for the general public?
If you require a passenger with a disability to 
check-in in advance of the check-in time for the 
general public, you must make personnel or other 
employees trained to proficiency on the 
requirements of this Part available promptly to 
assist the passenger at a designated location 1n the airport.
4. Section 382.27 1s amended to remove (c)(8) and remove (c)(9).
5. Subpart EE 1s added to read as follows:
Subpart EE­Service Animals
§ 382.72 Must carriers allow a service animal to 
accompany a passenger with a disability? You must 
allow a service animal to accompany a passenger 
with a disability. You must not deny 
transportation to a service animal on the basis 
that its carriage may offend or annoy carrier 
personnel or persons traveling on the aircraft.
§ 382.73 How many service animals must a carrier 
transport in the cabin of aircraft?
You are not required to accept more than two 
service animals for a single passenger with a disability.
§ 382.74 How do carriers determine if an animal Is a service animal?
(a) You may make two inquiries to determine 
whether an animal qualifies as a service animal.
You may ask if the animal is required to 
accompany the passenger because of a disability 
and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.
You must not ask about the nature or extent of a 
person’s disability or ask that the service 
animal demonstrate 1ts work or task.
(b) You may observe the behavior of an animal.
A trained service animal will remain under the control of its handler.
It does not run freely around an aircraft or an 
airport gate area, bark or etrowl repeatedly at 
other persons or other animals on the aircraft or 
1n the airport gate area, bite, jump on, or cause 
injury to people, or urinate or defecate in the 
cabin or gate area. An animal that engages 1n 
such disruptive behavior demonstrates that it has 
not been successfully trained to behave properly 
in a public setting and carriers are not required 
to treat it as a service animal, even if the 
animal performs an assistive function for a passenger with a disability.
(c) You may look for physical indicators on the 
animal to determine if the animal is a service 
animal. A service animal must be under the contro! of its owner.
harness, leash, or other tether unless the owner 
1s unable because of a disability to use a 
harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a 
harness, leash, or other tether would interfere 
with the service animal’s safe, effective 
performance of work or tasks, 1n which case the 
service animal must be otherwise under the 
handler’s control (e.g., voice control, signals, or other effective means).
§ 382.75 May a carrier require documentation from 
passengers with disabilities seeking to
travel with a service animal?
A service animal must have a
(a) If a passenger seeks to travel with a service 
animal, you may require the passenger with a 
disability to provide you, as a condition of 
permitting the service animal to travel in the 
cabin: (1) A current (1.e., no older than one 
year from the date of the passenger’s scheduled 
initial flight) completed copy of the U.S. 
Department of Transportation Air Transportation Service Animal Health Form; and
(2)
A completed copy of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation Air Transportation Service Animal 
Behavior and Training Attestation Form.
(b) On a flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours 
or more, you may, as a condition of permitting a 
service animal to travel in the cabin, require 
the passenger with a disability traveling with 
the service animal to confirm that the animal 
will not need to relieve itself on the flight or 
that the animal can relieve itself in a way that 
does not create a health or sanitation issue on 
the flight by providing a DOT Service Animal Relief Attestation Form.
(c) You are not permitted to require 
documentation of passengers with disabilities 
traveling with service animals beyond completion 
of the forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) 
of this (d) You must keep copies of the forms 
identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) at each airport you SCIVE.
As a foreign carrier, you must keep copies of the 
forms at each airport serving a flight you 
operate that begins or ends at a U.S. airport.
(ec) If you have a website, you must make the 
blank forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) 
available to passengers on your website in an accessible format.
(f)
You must mail copies of the blank forms identified 1n paragraphs (a) and (b) to
section.
passengers upon request.
§ 382.76 May a carrier require a service animal 
user to check-in at the airport one hour before 
the check-in time at the airport for the general 
public as a condition of travel to allow time to 
process the service animal documentation?
(a)
You may require a passenger with a disability to 
check-in at the airport one hour before the 
check-in time at the airport for the general 
public as a condition of travel with a service 
animal to allow time to process the service 
animal documentation and observe the animal so long as:
(1) You designate a specific location at the 
airport where the passenger could be promptly 
checked-in, the passenger’s service animal would 
be observed, and the passenger’s service animal 
documentation would be promptly reviewed by 
personnel trained to proficiency on the service 
animal requirements of this Part; and
(2) You have a similar or more stringent check-in 
requirement for passengers traveling with their pets in the cabin.
(b)
If a passenger does not meet the check-in 
requirements you establish consistent with this 
section, you must still provide the accommodation 
if you can do so by making reasonable efforts, without delaying the flight.
§ 382.77 May carriers restrict the location and 
placement of service animals on aircraft? (a) You 
must permit a service animal to accompany a 
passenger with a disability on the passenger’s 
lap or in the foot space immediately 1n front of 
the passenger’s seat, unless this location and 
placement would be (1) inconsistent with safety 
requirements set by the FAA or the foreign 
carrier’s government; or (2) encroaches into another passenger’s space.
(b) If a service animal cannot be accommodated on 
the passenger’s lap or in the foot space 
immediately in front of the passenger’s seat 
without encroaching into another passenger’s space,
you must offer the passenger the opportunity to 
move with the animal to another seat location 
within the same class of service, 1f available on 
the aircraft, where the animal can be accommodated.
You are not required to reseat other passengers 
to accommodate a service animal except as required by Subpart F.
(c) If there are no alternatives available to 
enable the passenger to travel with the service 
animal in the cabin of the scheduled flight, you 
must offer the passenger the opportunity to 
transport the service animal in the cargo hold 
free of charge or travel on a later flight to the 
extent there 1s space available on a later flight 
and the transport 1s consistent with the safety 
requirements set by the FAA or a foreign carrier’s government.
§ 382.78 May carriers charge individuals with 
disabilities for the damage thelr service While 
you cannot charge an individual with a disability 
for transporting service animals, or for 
providing other services that this rule requires, 
you may charge a passenger with a disability for 
damage caused by his or her service animal so 
long as you normally charge individuals without 
disabilities for similar kinds of damage.
§ 382.79 Under what other circumstances may 
carriers refuse to provide transportation to a 
service animal traveling with a passenger with a disability?
(a) You may deny transport to a service animal 
under the following circumstances: (1) The animal 
poses a direct threat to the health or safety of 
others (see definition in § 382.3);
(2) The animal causes a significant disruption in 
the cabin or at an airport gate area, or its 
behavior on the aircraft or at an airport gate 
area indicates that it has not been trained to 
behave properly in public (e.g., running freely, 
barking or growling repeatedly at other
animal causes?
persons on the aircraft, biting or jumping on 
people, or urinating or defecating 1n the cabin or gate area); or
(3) The animal’s carriage would violate FAA 
safety requirements or applicable safety 
requirements of a U.S. territory or foreign 
government (e.g., the animal 1s too large or 
heavy to be accommodated in the cabin).
(b) In determining whether to deny transport to a 
service animal on the basis that the animal poses 
a direct threat under paragraph (a)(1), you must 
make an individualized assessment based on 
reasonable judgment that relies on the best 
available objective evidence to ascertain the 
nature, duration, and severity of the risk; the 
probability that the potential injury will 
actually occur; and whether reasonable 
modifications of policies, practices, or 
procedure will mitigate (c) In determining 
whether to deny transport to a service animal on 
the basis that the animal has misbehaved and/or 
has caused a significant disruption in the cabin 
under paragraph (a)(2), you must make an 
individualized assessment based on reasonable 
judgment that relies on the best available 
objective evidence to ascertain the probability 
that the misbehavior and/or disruption will 
continue to occur; and whether reasonable 
modifications of policies, practices, or 
procedure will mitigate the misbehavior and/or the disruption.
(d) In conducting the analysis required under 
paragraph (a)(1) and (a)(2), you must not deny 
transportation to the service animal if there are 
means available short of refusal that would 
mitigate the problem (e.g., muzzling a barking 
service dog or taking other steps to comply with 
animal health regulations needed to permit entry 
of the service animal into a domestic territory or a foreign country).
the risk.
(ec) If you refuse to provide transportation to a 
service animal based on any provision in this 
Part, you must provide the individual with a 
disability accompanied by the service animal a 
written statement of the reason for the refusal.
This statement must include the specific basis 
for the carrier’s opinion that the refusal meets 
the standards of paragraphs (a) through (c) of 
this section or 1s otherwise specifically 
permitted by this Part. You must provide this 
written statement to the individual with a 
disability accompanied by the service animal 
either at the airport, or within 10 calendar days 
of the refusal of transportation.
§ 382.80 May carriers impose additional 
restrictions on the transport of service animals? 
Carriers are not permitted to establish 
additional restrictions on the transport of 
service animals outside of those specifically 
permitted by the provisions in this Part, unless 
required by applicable FAA, TSA, or other Federal 
requirements or a foreign carrier’s government.
6. Section 382.117 1s removed.
Issued this 22°° day of January, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
/Original signed/
Elaine L. Chao, secretary.



Marion


Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG
<http://nagdu.org/>Visit our website
<http://twitter.com/nagdu>Follow us on Twitter

The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise 
expectations because low expectations create 
barriers between blind  people and our dreams. 
You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds you back.

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