In late 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) finalized a rule focused on wheelchair air travel. The rule was intended to improve accountability — how airlines handle wheelchairs, train staff, and respond when things go wrong.
After finalizing the rule, DOT announced it would pause enforcement of nearly all of its new provisions while it reviews and may revise them. That enforcement pause is the key to understanding why air travel for wheelchair users feels largely unchanged today.
When DOT Paused Enforcement
DOT announced in early 2025 that it would use enforcement discretion for the 2024 wheelchair rule. In plain terms, this means DOT is not enforcing the new provisions while the rule is under review.
DOT has stated that this pause applies through at least December 31, 2026, and it may be extended. As a result, almost all of the new requirements introduced in the 2024 rule are currently on hold.
Source: DOT enforcement notices and updates
What’s on Pause
The enforcement pause applies to all of the new provisions in the 2024 rule except one. The paused provisions include the accountability measures advocates had been pushing for, such as:
- clearer requirements when a wheelchair is damaged
- stronger training expectations for airline staff
- more specific communication and notice requirements
- clearer standards for how airlines must respond when failures occur
Because these provisions are not being enforced, airlines are largely operating under the same framework that existed before the 2024 rule.
Source: Federal Register – Final Rule
The One Provision That Is Moving Forward
There is one exception to the enforcement pause. The rule includes a requirement related to on-board wheelchairs, also known as aisle chairs — the narrow wheelchairs used inside the airplane cabin.
What Moves Forward
When airlines obtain new on-board (aisle) wheelchairs on or after October 2, 2026, those chairs must meet updated performance standards. Those standards focus on basic functionality, including the ability to:
- fit and move within the aircraft aisle
- maneuver in tight cabin spaces
- provide stable support during movement
- allow transfers between the aisle chair and the airplane seat
- secure the passenger using restraint systems
These are performance expectations, not design specifications. The rule does not require a specific chair model or address common usability concerns such as pushing effort, turning difficulty, or standardization.
Source: DOT Final Rule (aisle chair standards and timelines)
What This Rule Actually Is — and What It Isn’t
It’s important to be clear about what the 2024 DOT wheelchair rule does and does not do.
This rule does not introduce new core rights for wheelchair users. The right to fly, the requirement to transport wheelchairs, and the requirement to provide aisle chairs on certain aircraft already existed under the Air Carrier Access Act.
What the rule primarily does is clarify expectations and signal future intent. Much of the rule focuses on how responsibilities are described on paper and how DOT may approach enforcement later — not on requiring immediate, concrete changes for travelers.
Even the one provision moving forward — related to future on-board (aisle) wheelchairs — does not mandate a standard chair, specific dimensions, wheel types, or handling improvements. It sets broad performance expectations that many existing aisle chairs already meet, without addressing long-standing usability problems such as difficulty turning, pushing effort, or inconsistency across airlines.
Because enforcement of most of the rule is paused and the remaining requirement applies only to future equipment purchases, the rule has little impact on today’s flying experience. For most travelers, this explains why air travel feels largely the same despite headlines about “new” regulations.
How the Air Carrier Access Act Fits In
All of this builds on the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), a federal law that has governed disability rights in air travel for decades.
Under the ACAA, airlines were already required to:
- allow people with disabilities to fly
- transport wheelchairs and mobility devices
- provide boarding and deplaning assistance
- avoid discrimination
- address damage to wheelchairs
Source: DOT – Traveling with a Disability
Last updated on February 5, 2026
