The American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted July 26, 1990. "The ADA prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. It also mandates the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services" (Americans 2). This paper will focus mostly on how the ADA affects airlines travelers, especially those travelers requiring oxygen. Travelers with special needs, whether physically or mentally handicapped, fall into the scope of the ADA. The ADA defines handicapped or persons with a disability as:.
A qualified individual with a disability is a person who meets legitimate skill, experience, education, or other requirements of an employment position that s/he holds or seeks, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. Requiring the ability to perform "essential" functions assures that an individual with a disability will not be considered unqualified simply because of inability to perform marginal or incidental job functions. If the individual is qualified to perform essential job functions except for limitations caused by a disability, the employer must consider whether the individual could perform these functions with a reasonable accommodation. If a written job description has been prepared in advance of advertising or interviewing applicants for a job, this will be considered as evidence, although not conclusive evidence, of the essential functions of the job. (Americans 3) .
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) specifically governs oxygen use in aircrafts; the ADA does not directly speak of airline travel for patrons needing additional oxygen.
The FAA has very specific regulations regarding the use of compressed oxygen on its flights. FAA rules state that no one can bring their own pressurized oxygen container regardless of need.
