Federal officials want to make airplane bathrooms easier to use for people with disabilities and aging travelers with reduced mobility. But it could be decades before planes with those features dominate the air. In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed its first update to lavatory design rules since 1990, when the Air Carrier Access Act barred discriminating against passengers with disabilities. The airline industry is exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act that sets accessibility standards for most businesses.
In 2016, airlines, manufacturers and disability advocates negotiated a compromise to modernize regulations for bathrooms on commercial aircraft. After years of delay and a lawsuit by Paralyzed Veterans of America, the federal agency proposed a first round of changes in January and said it would accept public comment through Monday. A second proposal could make lavatories bigger, but has not yet been released for public review and would not take effect for at least 20 years. Both proposals would only apply to new aircraft and not the more than 5,600 planes in the air today.
Not having accessible lavatories on airplanes effectively limits how and where people with disabilities can travel. We don't expect people to go several hours on an airplane without needing to use a restroom, but that's essentially what we ask of people with disabilities when they need to fly,” said Gerald O’Neill, who runs an independent-living program in Virginia. “This change is long overdue.”
Advocates say today’s airplane bathrooms are an unacceptable form of discrimination that cause emotional, physical and financial harm to passengers with disabilities. Travelers who are blind fumble to find the unmarked flush button. People with limited strength or dexterity might not be able to turn on faucets or sit down safely.
People who use wheelchairs say they dehydrate themselves and risk serious health complications to avoid needing a bathroom that’s too small for them to enter. Some travelers wear diapers. Others pay extra for multiple short flights instead of a nonstop ticket.
Navy veteran James Wheaton, who was on duty when he was hit by a drunk driver and left paralyzed, said in the lawsuit against USDOT that it is “disheartening to be denied access to something so basic as the ability to relieve oneself as needed.”
“I am always apprehensive about whether I will have a bladder or bowel accident during the flight,” wrote Wheaton, who flies frequently for work as treasurer for Paralyzed Veterans of America. “I feel the most hindered by my disability when flying.”
Many people skip flying altogether.
When Paralyzed Veterans of America surveyed 931 people for USDOT in 2016, about two-thirds of them said they avoid flying because they can’t use the bathroom on planes.
Among the nation’s eight largest carriers, four would not talk about the USDOT proposals: Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and Spirit. Four others – American, Frontier, Southwest and United – provided statements but would not answer questions. Those who replied emphasized that their companies comply with all federal regulations and will continue to work with USDOT to finalize new rules.
“We take great pride in making flying accessible for our customers,” wrote one spokesperson. “The Southwest Airlines fleet is comprised of only single-aisle, Boeing 737 aircraft, and, at this time, there is no DOT requirement for wheelchair accessible lavatories on single-aisle aircraft. However, Southwest will comply with any future DOT requirement to install wheelchair accessible lavatories on new deliveries of single-aisle aircraft.”
The proposals
Changes to lavatory design should be made in two waves, agreed civil rights groups and the airline industry.
Engineer and Oregon State University professor Katharine Hunter-Zaworski, who served on the committee, said discussions initially stalled because airlines said changes would cost too much. Disability advocates didn’t want to lose the opportunity, so they struck a deal built around two questions: What changes can airlines make now at little cost? And what changes will take more time?
“I think we sold ourselves short, but we got some agreement,” said Hunter-Zaworksi, who first designed standards for accessible plane bathrooms in 1991.
The first updates proposed by USDOT in January are what airlines and advocates agreed could be changed promptly. The proposal would require lavatories in new planes with at least 125 seats to have grab bars, call buttons, touch-operated faucets and other accessible features. Airlines would be required to remove handicap signs from bathrooms that are not accessible and to inform travelers about the accessibility features of lavatories when asked.
The new rules also would set performance standards for on-board wheelchairs flight attendants use to move passengers with limited mobility.
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