DOT Rule Mandates that Airlines Must Accept Carry-On Portable Oxygen Concentrators Aboard Flights
July 14, 2008
Miami, FL – The US Department of Transportation has ruled that airlines
must accept portable oxygen concentrators carried aboard by passengers, as
long as those concentrators are approved by the DOT.
John W. Walsh, President and CEO of the Alpha-1 Foundation and President
of the COPD Foundation, welcomed the news. “This is great news for the
Alpha-1 and COPD communities,” Walsh said. “Our community has put
significant effort into this issue, and we’re pleased that the Airline Oxygen
Council of America has helped facilitate this victory.”
The Airline Oxygen Council of America (AOCA) has been spearheading the
effort to ease access to medical oxygen for airline passengers. The AOCA
website is funded by the Alpha-1 Foundation through a grant from the
Ruderman Family Foundation.
“This is a great step forward,” said Morton Ruderman of the Ruderman
Family Foundation. “This will make air travel more accessible and
convenient for those of us who need supplemental oxygen. We have much
more to do – patients using less expensive alternatives to the portable
concentrators, such as liquid oxygen, deserve easier access to air travel as
well – but we can all be pleased with this ruling.”
The new rule will make it easier for passengers to use medical oxygen
during flights by requiring airlines to allow the use in the passenger
cabin of portable oxygen concentrators that meet applicable safety,
security and hazardous materials requirements for safe use aboard
aircraft.
Previously airlines themselves made the choice whether or not they
would allow portable oxygen concentrators to be carried aboard the
plane.
Five portable oxygen concentrators have been approved for passengers to
carry aboard aircraft: AirSep FreeStyle, AirSep LifeStyle, Inogen One,
Respirnics EverGo and Sequal Eclipse.
“This revised rule expands the protections people with disabilities will
enjoy while traveling by air,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters
said.
The new rule will apply to US air carriers worldwide and to foreign air
carriers operating a flight that begins or ends in the United States.
Passengers flying to Europe, Asia, or other destinations on foreign air
carriers now will have similar protections against discriminatory policies and
be entitled to the same accommodations as passengers flying on U.S.
carriers. DOT will also be better able to take enforcement action against a
foreign carrier if it discriminates against an individual because of his or her
disability on flights to or from the United States
The DOT will seek further comment about whether airlines should be
required to provide medical oxygen to passengers upon request. A public
hearing on the new ruling is scheduled in Washington June 3.
The new rule will be effective in one year to give carriers enough time to
begin implementing its provisions. The text of the final rule is available on
the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2004-19482.
About the Alpha-1 Foundation:
The mission of the Alpha-1 Foundation is to provide the leadership and resources that will result in increased research, improved health, worldwide detection, and a cure for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. For more information, please visit: http://www.alphaone.org.
Contact: Bob Campbell
(305) 567-9888, ext. 230
About the COPD Foundation:
The COPD Foundation is dedicated to developing and supporting programs which improve the quality of life through research, education, early diagnosis, and enhanced therapy for persons whose lives are impacted by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. For more information, please visit: http://www.copdfoundation.org/.
Ifdy Perez
(305) 567-9888, ext. 398