H.R. 9373: Air Carrier Access Amendments Act of 2026

H.R. 9373, the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act of 2026, builds on the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, cited as Public Law 99-435 and 100 Stat. 1080, and amends section 41705 of title 49, United States Code. The bill starts from a blunt list of existing problems: damaged assistive devices, physical harm, inaccessible aircraft and communications, inadequate help, mistreatment of service animals, and lack of suitable seating. Its core idea is simple: disability rights in air travel should be enforceable not just by regulators, but by the people who are harmed.

The biggest change is a new private right of action. Any person aggrieved by a violation of section 41705 or related regulations could file a civil action in an appropriate United States district court, and they would not have to exhaust administrative remedies first. But there is a hard deadline: the lawsuit must be filed within a 2-year period beginning on the date of the violation. Courts could award compensatory and punitive damages, and the prevailing party would receive reasonable attorney's fees, expert fees, and court costs. The bill also says these new rights do not wipe out stronger protections under Federal, State, District of Columbia, or territorial law.

The bill also makes federal enforcement tougher. It says the Secretary of Transportation must assess a civil penalty under section 46301 when an airline or foreign air carrier causes a delay of, loss of, or significant damage to a wheelchair or scooter; causes physical harm or fatal injury to a passenger in the provision of service; fails to provide proper boarding or deplaning help when aisle chair assistance is required; denies boarding to a passenger with disabilities; denies access to a service animal in violation of Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, or foreign aviation authority requirements; or commits an act of gross negligence regarding a passenger with disabilities. That is more than a general promise to enforce the law — it creates mandatory penalty triggers tied to specific conduct.

There is also an escalation path for broader misconduct. If the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe an air carrier or foreign air carrier is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination, or if the discrimination raises an issue of general public importance, the Secretary must first assess a civil penalty under section 46301 and then refer the matter to the Attorney General for further action. The Attorney General could bring a civil action on behalf of aggrieved individuals in a U.S. district court, seek equitable relief, ask for damages for those individuals, and pursue an additional civil penalty against the airline. In practice, that means both individual lawsuits and federal enforcement could move at the same time, raising the legal and financial stakes for airlines that fail disabled travelers.