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What to know about the Biden administration's new travel rules

September 21, 2021 / 6:44 PM EDT / AP

The Biden administration is rolling out new international travel policies affecting Americans and foreigners alike who want to fly to the U.S. The goal is to restore more normal air travel  after 18 months of disruption caused by  COVID-19 .

The sweeping rules, which take effect in November, will replace a hodgepodge of confusing restrictions. Some details of the plan announced Monday are being worked out, but here are some questions and answers about what to expect.

What is the new policy in a nutshell?

All adult foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. will be required to be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight. This is in addition to the current requirement that travelers show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.

Once the vaccination requirement is put in place, the White House will ease all the country-specific restrictions on international travel that have prevented noncitizens who have been in the United Kingdom, European Union, China, India, Iran, Republic of Ireland, Brazil or South Africa in the prior 14 days from entering the U.S.

How does this affect U.S. travelers?

Fully vaccinated Americans will only need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.

What about unvaccinated Americans?

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are not fully vaccinated will still be able to fly to the U.S., but they will see tougher testing and contact-tracing protocols. They will need to be tested within 24 hours of boarding a flight to the U.S., as well as undergo testing upon return to the country. It remains to be seen, though, how the federal government will enforce the testing requirement upon return.

How does this affect children?

The new U.S. policy only requires adult foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the U.S. The White House did not immediately say whether unvaccinated children will face different testing protocols when flying into the country.

Which vaccines are acceptable?

The CDC says the U.S. will accept full vaccination of travelers with any COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, including those from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson used in the U.S. Other vaccines are also approved by the WHO and used widely around the world, including from AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac, with varying degrees of effectiveness against COVID-19 and its more transmissible Delta variant. The WHO is reviewing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine but hasn't approved it.

How will this affect airfares?

Adit Damodaran, economist for the trave research firm Hopper, predicted that growing demand is likely to cause higher airfares on flights from Europe, although the rush to book flights could be slowed by the Delta variant and high COVID-19 rates in the U.S. If fares rise, it would mark a turnaround in prices since the start of the pandemic.

Will airlines collect data on passengers?

The CDC will require airlines to collect information about passengers and provide it to the health agency if it needs to conduct contact tracing. The airlines had resisted a similar change last year, when it was proposed by the CDC and eventually blocked by the Trump administration.

What about travel over land borders?

The administration's restrictions on crossing land borders from Mexico and Canada into the U.S. are to remain unchanged for now. That means that in some cases fully vaccinated people from the two American neighbors will soon be able fly to the U.S., but may not be able to make the same journey by car.

How will this affect the travel industry?

Analysts and industry officials think it will help. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said lifting the current restrictions on international travelers will contribute to a durable recovery for the U.S. economy. Before Monday, the U.S. was on pace to lose $175 billion in export income from international visitors this year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

How have the current restrictions affected global travel?

They have made it easier for Americans to visit Europe than the other way around. U.S. international travel in August was down 54% compared with two years ago, and arrivals by non-U.S. citizens were off 74%, according to Airlines for America.

How will the changes affect business travel?

There is pent-up demand among business travelers from Europe. Foreign executives who have been vaccinated will no longer have to prove that their travel to the United States serves the U.S. "national interest″ — a time-consuming process.

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From vaccines to testing: What travelers need to know before the new US travel system on Nov. 8

• The U.S. is launching a new travel system on Nov. 8.
• Vaccinated foreign air travelers will need to show proof of full vaccination and test for COVID-19.
• The new travel system also adds more stringent testing requirements for unvaccinated U.S. travelers.

The United States is about to make it much easier for vaccinated international travelers to visit.  

The White House announced that a new air travel system will take effect Nov. 8, allowing entry for fully vaccinated foreign tourists .  The system is set to launch nearly two years after the U.S. began imposing travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 . 

The move by the White House will essentially have the U.S. drop its travel ban on dozens of countries while also making entry more challenging for the unvaccinated. The new system will allow entry for foreign nationals only with vaccinations approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization and would add testing requirements for unvaccinated Americans.

Here’s what we know about the new travel requirements:

What are the entry requirements for foreign nationals?

Starting Nov. 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers   will need to show proof of full vaccination as well as a pre-departure negative coronavirus test taken within three days of travel before they can board a plane to the U.S. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Acceptable forms of proof of vaccination include:

• Digital or paper verifiable record, such as a vaccination certificate or a digital pass with a QR code.  
• Nonverifiable paper record, such as a printout of a COVID-19 vaccination record or COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
• Nonverifiable digital record, such as a digital photo of a vaccination card or record, downloaded vaccine record, downloaded vaccination certificate or a mobile phone application without a QR code.  

The U.S. will accept nucleic acid amplification tests, including PCR tests, and antigen tests. The rules will go into effect for passengers on planes leaving for the U.S. at or after 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 8.  

Airlines will collect basic personal contact information   from all U.S.-bound travelers for contact tracing. Airlines are required to keep the information on hand so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   can reach out to travelers who may have been infected or exposed to COVID-19.

Masking will be required, but there will be no quarantine mandate for vaccinated travelers or unvaccinated children .

► US  travel bans: How COVID-19 travel restrictions have impacted families and couples

The change will make entering the U.S. possible for travelers from countries now listed on the U.S. travel ban, which prohibits entry for travelers who have been in any of the regions within the past 14 days. The travel ban  took effect in early 2020 and includes :

• United Kingdom
• Republic of Ireland
• South Africa
• The European Schengen area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City)

Currently, the U.S. asks international air passengers only to get tested within three days of their flight to the U.S. and show either the negative test result or proof of recovery  from COVID-19 before boarding. 

What about the land borders with Mexico and Canada?

New travel rules will also take effect for foreign nationals arriving by land or passenger ferry.

Starting Nov. 8, fully vaccinated foreign nationals can cross the land borders for nonessential reasons such as tourism or visiting friends and family . These travelers will need to verbally attest to their reason for travel and vaccination status and be prepared to show proof of vaccination  upon request. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will accept both digital and paper records showing proof of vaccination, including documents not in English.   Foreign nationals will also need appropriate travel documentation to enter the country.  

CBP will spot-check travelers' vaccination documents, and those without documented proof of vaccination can be denied entry. Travelers under 18 will be exempt from the vaccination requirement as long as they are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, according to Matthew Davies, CBP's executive director of admissibility and passenger programs.  

The new travel rules will go into effect as soon as a port of entry opens on Nov. 8, or at midnight for ports that operate 24 hours a day changes will go into effect at midnight on Nov. 8 for ports that operation 24 hours a day.  

U.S. citizens reentering the country should also bring a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative document, such as a valid passport, trusted traveler program card, enhanced driver's license or enhanced tribal card. 

Entry rules along the border will change again in early January, with all travelers – including those traveling for essential purposes – required to show proof of full vaccination. 

► US land borders: Travelers in Mexico and Canada plan their next US visit after new land border policy announced

Which vaccines does the US accept for travel?

The CDC has announced that vaccines approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization will be accepted for air travel. White House officials expect the CDC to approve the same vaccines for travelers entering the U.S. by land or ferry.  

The FDA has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use during the pandemic: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech, the last of which has received the FDA's full stamp of approval.

Vaccines with WHO approval for emergency use include:

• Johnson & Johnson
• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Oxford-AstraZeneca/Covishield 

The CDC confirmed that it would accept a mix-and-match approach to vaccinations. Travelers who have any combination of FDA- or WHO-approved vaccines will be considered fully vaccinated.

The new travel policy does not accept foreign travelers who have had COVID and received just one shot in a two-dose series. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the administration will "continue to review" its entry requirements.  

► Covaxin gets WHO emergency approval: Travelers vaccinated with Covaxin can enter US   

► 'You feel lonely and left out': These fully vaccinated travelers want to visit the US. They may not be allowed in.

How do the new rules affect kids? 

Foreign nationals under 18 are exempt from the vaccination requirement. Children under two will not need to take a pre-departure COVID test.

Kids 2 and older traveling with a fully vaccinated adult can test three days prior to departure, while children traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults will need to get tested within one day of departure. 

Currently, all air passengers 2 or older, including U.S. citizens and permanent residents, need to show a negative coronavirus test to fly to the U.S.

What are the entry requirements for Americans?

The new travel system adds more stringent testing requirements for unvaccinated U.S. travelers.

Starting Nov. 8, unvaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will need to take a test one day before departure and test again upon arrival in the U.S. 

► New travel rules: What US travelers need to know about the new COVID rules for international flights

Entry requirements will not change for vaccinated Americans. They will still need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than three days before departure. 

Americans will not need to be fully vaccinated to board international flights to the U.S.

Are there any exemptions?

There is a limited set of travelers who are exempt from the vaccine requirement for entry.

Children under 18, certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants and travelers with adverse reactions to the vaccines – such as people who have had severe anaphylactic allergic reactions to a prior COVID-19 vaccine –  will be exempt.

People traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with less than 10% of its population vaccinated who need to enter the U.S. for emergency or humanitarian reasons are also exempt from the vaccine requirement. There are about 50 countries considered to have low vaccine availability at this time.

These exempt travelers will generally need to show that they will comply with public health mandates, including a requirement to be vaccinated in the U.S. if they plan to stay more than 60 days.  

Unless they have recovered from COVID-19 within the last 90 days, unvaccinated travelers  must agree to be tested with a COVID-19 viral test three to five days after their arrival and quarantine for seven days, even if their post-arrival test comes back negative. 

Unvaccinated travelers who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents must also agree to self-isolate if their post-arrival test is positive or if they develop COVID-19 symptoms. 

Unvaccinated children under 18 will not need to quarantine but will still need to take a post-arrival test. 

► Who is exempt?: These select groups of unvaccinated foreign travelers can enter the US

The CDC will not give exemptions  to people who object to the vaccinations due to religious or moral convictions. 

There will also be testing accommodations for travelers who can prove they recently recovered from the coronavirus. These travelers will need to show a positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before their flight's departure and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or public health official saying they are cleared for travel.  

Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz . 

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Coronavirus Updates

Cdc says travel is safe for fully vaccinated people, but opposes nonessential trips.

Rachel Treisman

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its domestic travel guidance for fully vaccinated people on Friday, lifting certain requirements while continuing to advise mitigation measures like mask-wearing and hand-washing. Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its domestic travel guidance for fully vaccinated people on Friday, lifting certain requirements while continuing to advise mitigation measures like mask-wearing and hand-washing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its domestic travel guidance for fully vaccinated people, lifting certain testing and self-quarantine requirements and recommending precautions like wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. But health officials continue to discourage nonessential travel, citing a sustained rise in cases and hospitalizations.

The CDC updated its website on Friday to reflect the latest scientific evidence, writing that "people who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States."

The announcement comes less than a month after the CDC first released updated guidance about gatherings for fully vaccinated people, which it described as a "first step" toward returning to everyday activities.

Air Travel Is Opening Up Again, But That Doesn't Mean The Pandemic Is Over

The CDC considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive the last dose of vaccine. Those individuals will no longer need to get tested before or after travel unless their destination requires it, and do not need to self-quarantine upon return.

The new guidance means, for example, that fully vaccinated grandparents can fly to visit their healthy grandkids without getting a COVID-19 test or self-quarantining as long as they follow other recommended measures while traveling, according to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

Those measures include wearing a mask over their nose and mouth, staying 6 feet from others and washing their hands frequently. Masks are required on all planes traveling into, within or out of the U.S., under an executive order issued by President Biden.

But Walensky, speaking at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Friday, nonetheless discouraged all nonessential travel, citing a continued increase in the seven-day average of cases and hospitalizations.

"While we believe that fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves, CDC is not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases," Walensky said.

CDC Director Fears 'Impending Doom' If U.S. Opens Too Quickly

She said that while vaccinated people can do more things safely, most Americans are not yet fully vaccinated. Those who are not must have a negative test 1-3 days before they travel under CDC guidance. They must either get tested 3-5 days after they return and self-quarantine for 7 days, or self-quarantine for 10 days with no test.

Walensky said on Monday that there is more travel occurring now than throughout the pandemic, including the winter holidays. She acknowledged that people have been looking to get away over spring break or take advantage of what they perceive as a "relative paucity in cases," and she said the country was seeing an uptick in cases as a result.

"The thing that's different this time is that we actually have it in our power to be done with the scale of the vaccination," she said. "And that will be so much slower if we have another surge to deal with as well."

The U.S. is already seeing an uptick in domestic travel, and many Americans are looking to book trips in the coming months in what experts described to NPR as a sign of "clear pent up demand for travel."

As the country's supply of COVID-19 doses has grown, so has Biden's goal for the number of shots in arms during his first 100 days, doubling the target to 200 million by the end of this month. Many states have already expanded eligibility to all adults or are set to do so in the coming weeks, well ahead of the president's May 1 deadline.

According to NPR's vaccine tracker , 16.9% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and 30% has had at least one dose. Researchers estimate that 70% to 85% of the country would need to have immunity for COVID-19 to stop spreading through communities.

International travel restrictions remain

The CDC is not lifting travel restrictions barring the entry of most non-U.S. citizens from places including China, Brazil, South Africa and parts of Europe. It will continue to require airline passengers entering the U.S. to get a test within three days of their departure and show proof of a negative result before boarding.

The travel industry has been pushing for some of these restrictions to end. A group of 26 organizations sent a letter to White House COVID-19 czar Jeffrey Zients urging the federal government "to partner with us to develop, by May 1, 2021, a risk-based, data-driven roadmap to rescind inbound international travel restrictions."

While Some Spring Breakers Swarm Beaches, Many Stay Home, Dreaming Of Summer Travel

"To be clear, at this time, we do not support removal or easing of core public health protections, such as the universal mask mandate, inbound international testing requirement, physical distancing or other measures that have made travel safer and reduced transmission of the virus," they wrote. "However, the data and science demonstrate that the right public health measures are now in place to effectively mitigate risk and allow for the safe removal of entry restrictions."

Travel and tourism have taken a considerable hit because of the pandemic with industry groups noting that overseas travel to the U.S. declined by 81% in 2020, causing billions of dollars in losses. Without lifting international travel bans, the U.S. Travel Association estimates that some 1.1 million American jobs will not be restored and billions in spending will be lost by the end of the year.

"Fortunately, enough progress has been made on the health front that a rebound for domestic leisure travel looks possible this year, but that alone won't get the job done," Roger Dow, the association's president and CEO, said in a statement . "A full travel recovery will depend on reopening international markets, and we must also contend with the challenge of reviving business travel."

Fauci Expects Surge In Vaccinations To Keep A 4th Coronavirus Wave At Bay

• COVID-19 vaccine
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC Mask Order Remains in Effect and CDC Realigns Travel Health Notice System

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 13, 2022 Contact: Media Relations (404) 639-3286

Today, CDC is announcing two COVID-19 travel-related updates based on close-monitoring of the COVID-19 landscape in the United States and internationally.

CDC continues to monitor the spread of the Omicron variant, especially the BA.2 subvariant that now makes up more than 85% of U.S. cases. Since early April, there have been increases in the 7-day moving average of cases in the U.S. The CDC Mask Order remains in effect while CDC assesses the potential impact of the rise of cases on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and healthcare system capacity. TSA will extend the security directive and emergency amendment for 15 days, through May 3, 2022.

Secondly, CDC will update its Travel Health Notice system for international destinations. To help the public understand when the highest level of concern is most urgent, this new system will reserve Level 4 travel health notices for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse. Levels 3, 2, and 1 will continue to be primarily determined by 28-day incidence or case counts. The new level system will be effective April 18, 2022.

CDC uses Travel Health Notices to alert travelers and other audiences to health threats around the world and advise on how to protect themselves before, during, and after travel. With this new configuration, travelers will have a more actionable alert for when they should not travel to a certain destination (Level 4), regardless of vaccination status, until we have a clearer understanding of the COVID-19 situation at that destination.

CDC will continue to monitor COVID-19 levels, in our communities, nationally, and abroad to provide the most up-to-date guidance to keep travelers safe and healthy.

### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether disease start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

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COVID-19 international travel advisories

If you plan to visit the U.S., you do not need to be tested or vaccinated for COVID-19. U.S. citizens going abroad, check with the Department of State for travel advisories.

COVID-19 testing and vaccine rules for entering the U.S.

• As of May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant visitors to the U.S.  arriving by air  or  arriving by land or sea  no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 
• As of June 12, 2022,  people entering the U.S. no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test . 

U.S. citizens traveling to a country outside the U.S.

Find country-specific COVID-19 travel rules from the Department of State.

See the  CDC's COVID-19 guidance for safer international travel.

LAST UPDATED: December 6, 2023

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Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They will get you the answer or let you know where to find it.

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Air travel is much more efficient when you have the up-to-date information that you need to plan and prepare for your trip. Here you will find real-time airport status and delay information, what to know before you go to the airport, and important safety information.

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Report Travel Problems, Concerns & Complaints

Know before you go.

Think about what you need to do to get through screening quickly before you dress for travel or zip up your bags.

• Holiday Travel
• Check airport status and delays.
• Check out  Preparing to Fly  for more information.
• View TSA's checklist of Travel Tips.
• Pack Safe  before you fly.
• The Department of Transportation (DOT) launched an interactive Customer Service Dashboard to provide travelers with up-to-date airline customer service policies on controllable cancellations and delays to ensure customers have easy access to information when problems arise. Know your airline's policies in the event of a delay or cancellation.
• Enroll in TSA Pre Check

If you fly often, consider TSA's program for expedited screening at certain airports and airlines.

Passenger Health & Safety

To maintain good health, be aware of travel advisories and disease outbreaks at your destination.

• Fly Healthy .
• Research  travel advisories .
• Look up  travel health notices .

Flying for People with Disabilities, Children, and Pets

• Information about Family Travel
• If you or someone you know will require accommodations while flying, read about  Passengers with Disabilities .
• If you are flying with children, review FAA's guidance about  Child Safety .
• If you are bringing pets or service animals, read about  Flying with Pets .
• Find out if your airline has a commitment to free family seating with DOT's Airline Family Seating Dashboard .
• Show your youngest travelers what to expect with our Kid's First Flight video .

Check for Prohibited items

Use the " Can I bring? " app and the " MyTSA " app to find helpful information about TSA policies and procedures.

• Review information about flying with your  portable electronic devices  (PEDs).
• Can you fly with batteries, medical devices or lighters? Review  Pack Safe  guidance.
• View  TSA Prohibited Items .
• Check out  Flying Safe  for more resources.

3-1-1 for Liquids

Liquids, gels, aerosols, creams, and pastes must be 3.4 ounces or less.

• All bottles must fit in a single quart size plastic bag and the bag must be placed in a bin for screening.
• Screening may be required for sun block, tanning sprays, and food such as yogurt.
• Review  TSA's 3-1-1 for Liquids rule .

Prepare for Security

Have an acceptable ID and your boarding pass ready.

• View your airport's security wait time .
• Remove large electronics including laptops and your quart size liquids bag from carry-on luggage.
• Put any metallic clothing or objects, as well as your cell phone, into a bin for screening.

You may also need to  report a travel problem, concern, or complaint .

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What Can I Bring?

Planning ahead and packing properly can facilitate the screening process and ease your travel experience at the airport. Know what you can pack in your carry-on and checked baggage before arriving at the airport by reviewing the lists below. Even if an item is generally permitted, it may be subject to additional screening or not allowed through the checkpoint if it triggers an alarm during the screening process, appears to have been tampered with, or poses other security concerns. Read about civil penalties for prohibited items .

• Twitter: @AskTSA
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The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint.

Officers may ask you to power up your electronic device, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. TSA does not read or copy information from your device.

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Aerosol Insecticide

• Carry On Bags: No
• Checked Bags: Yes (Special Instructions)

Aerosol insecticides are not allowed in carry-on; however they are allowed in checked bags as long as they are not labeled as hazardous material (HAZMAT).

Air Mattress with Built-in Pump

• Carry On Bags: Yes (Special Instructions)
• Checked Bags: Yes

Air mattresses with built-in pump are allowed in carry-on bags. Please check with your airline for any size or weight restrictions.

Airbrush Make-up Machine

Devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion batteries should be carried in carry-on baggage.  Most other consumer devices containing batteries are allowed in carry-on and checked baggage.

For more information to portable electronic devices, see the FAA regulations.

Alcoholic beverages

• Carry On Bags: Yes (Less than or equal to 3.4oz/100 ml allowed)

Check with your airline before bringing any alcohol beverages on board. FAA regulations prohibit travelers from consuming alcohol on board an aircraft unless served by a flight attendant.  Additionally, Flight Attendants are not permitted to serve a passenger who is intoxicated.

Alcoholic beverages with more than 24% but not more than 70% alcohol are limited in checked bags to 5 liters (1.3 gallons) per passenger and must be in unopened retail packaging. Alcoholic beverages with 24% alcohol or less are not subject to limitations in checked bags. 

Mini bottles of alcohol in carry-on must be able to comfortably fit into a single quart-sized bag.

For more information, see FAA regulation: 49 CFR 175.10(a)(4).

Alcoholic beverages over 140 proof

• Checked Bags: No

Alcoholic beverages with more than 70% alcohol (over 140 proof), including grain alcohol and 151 proof rum. For more information, see FAA regulation: 49 CFR 175.10(a)(4).

Check with your airline if ammunition is allowed in checked bags. Small arms ammunitions must be securely packed in fiber, wood or metal boxes or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ask the airline about limitations or fees. Read the guidelines for traveling with firearms.

When traveling, be sure to comply with the laws concerning possession of firearms as they vary by local, state and international government.

• Carry On Bags: Yes

You may transport this item in carry-on or checked bags. For items you wish to carry on, you should check with the airline to ensure that the item will fit in the overhead bin or underneath the seat of the airplane.

Arc Lighters, Plasma Lighters, Electronic Lighters, E-Lighters

Measures must be taken to prevent unintentional activation of the heating element while on board the aircraft. Examples of effective measures to prevent unintentional activation include, but are not limited to: removing the battery from the lighter; placing the lighter into a protective case; and/or using a protective cover, safety latch, or locking device on the lighter's activation button.

Each lithium ion battery must not exceed a Watt-hour (Wh) rating of 100 Wh; or for lithium metal batteries, a lithium content of 2 grams.

Recharging of the devices and/or the batteries on board the aircraft is not permitted.

See FAA regulations for more information.

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What is COVID-19?

Who can get covid-19, can i travel if i recently had covid-19, what can travelers do to prevent covid-19, more information.

CDC Respiratory Virus Guidance has been updated. The content of this page will be updated soon.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The virus spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets and small particles produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The virus spreads easily in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor settings.

People with COVID-19 have reported a wide range of symptoms   – ranging from no or mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure to the virus. Possible symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, new loss of taste and smell, sore throat, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Anyone can get COVID-19. However, some people are more likely than others to get very sick if they get COVID-19. These include people who are older, are  immunocompromised , or have certain  disabilities , or have  underlying health conditions .  Vaccination, past infection, and timely access to testing and treatment can help protect you from getting very sick from COVID-19.

Yes, you can travel once you have ended isolation . Check CDC guidance for additional precautions, including testing and wearing a mask around others. If you recently had COVID-19 and are recommended to wear a mask, do not travel on public transportation such as airplanes, buses, and trains if you are unable to wear a mask whenever around others.

Get  up to date  with your COVID-19 vaccines before you travel and take steps to protect yourself and others . Consider wearing a mask in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor areas, including on public transportation and in transportation hubs. Take additional precautions if you were recently exposed to a person with COVID-19. Don’t travel while sick.

If you have a  weakened immune system  or  are at increased risk for severe disease talk to a healthcare professional before you decide to travel.  If you travel, take multiple prevention steps to provide additional layers of protection from COVID-19, even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines. These include improving ventilation and spending more time outdoors, avoiding sick people, getting tested for COVID-19 if you develop symptoms, staying home if you have or think you have COVID-19, and seeking treatment if you have COVID-19.

Consider getting travel insurance in case you need medical care abroad .

Consider getting a COVID-19 test if you:

• Develop COVID-19 symptoms before, during, or after travel.
• Will be traveling to visit someone who is at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.
• Were in a situation with a greater risk of exposure during travel (e.g., in an indoor, crowded space like an airport terminal while not wearing a mask).

If you traveled and feel sick, particularly if you have a fever, talk to a healthcare professional, and tell them about your recent travel.

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• COVID-19 travel advice

Considering travel during the pandemic? Take precautions to protect yourself from COVID-19.

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine can prevent you from getting COVID-19 or from becoming seriously ill due to COVID-19 . But even if you're vaccinated, it's still a good idea to take precautions to protect yourself and others while traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you've had all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, including boosters, you're less likely to become seriously ill or spread COVID-19 . You can then travel more safely within the U.S. and internationally. But international travel can still increase your risk of getting new COVID-19 variants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you should avoid travel until you've had all recommended COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses.

Before you travel

As you think about making travel plans, consider these questions:

• Have you been vaccinated against COVID-19 ? If you haven't, get vaccinated. If the vaccine requires two doses, wait two weeks after getting your second vaccine dose to travel. If the vaccine requires one dose, wait two weeks after getting the vaccine to travel. It takes time for your body to build protection after any vaccination.
• Have you had any booster doses? Having all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, including boosters, increases your protection from serious illness.
• Are you at increased risk for severe illness? Anyone can get COVID-19 . But older adults and people of any age with certain medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 .
• Do you live with someone who's at increased risk for severe illness? If you get infected while traveling, you can spread the COVID-19 virus to the people you live with when you return, even if you don't have symptoms.
• Does your home or destination have requirements or restrictions for travelers? Even if you've had all recommended vaccine doses, you must follow local, state and federal testing and travel rules.

Check local requirements, restrictions and situations

Some state, local and territorial governments have requirements, such as requiring people to wear masks, get tested, be vaccinated or stay isolated for a period of time after arrival. Before you go, check for requirements at your destination and anywhere you might stop along the way.

Keep in mind these can change often and quickly depending on local conditions. It's also important to understand that the COVID-19 situation, such as the level of spread and presence of variants, varies in each country. Check back for updates as your trip gets closer.

Travel and testing

For vaccinated people.

If you have been fully vaccinated, the CDC states that you don't need to get tested before or after your trip within the U.S. or stay home (quarantine) after you return.

If you're planning to travel internationally outside the U.S., the CDC states you don't need to get tested before your trip unless it's required at your destination. Before arriving to the U.S., you need a negative test within the last day before your arrival or a record of recovery from COVID-19 in the last three months.

After you arrive in the U.S., the CDC recommends getting tested with a viral test 3 to 5 days after your trip. If you're traveling to the U.S. and you aren't a citizen, you need to be fully vaccinated and have proof of vaccination.

You don't need to quarantine when you arrive in the U.S. But check for any symptoms. Stay at home if you develop symptoms.

For unvaccinated people

Testing before and after travel can lower the risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 . If you haven't been vaccinated, the CDC recommends getting a viral test within three days before your trip. Delay travel if you're waiting for test results. Keep a copy of your results with you when you travel.

Repeat the test 3 to 5 days after your trip. Stay home for five days after travel.

If at any point you test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 , stay home. Stay at home and away from others if you develop symptoms. Follow public health recommendations.

Stay safe when you travel

In the U.S., you must wear a face mask on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation. The mask must fit snugly and cover both your mouth and nose.

Follow these steps to protect yourself and others when you travel:

• Get vaccinated.
• Keep distance between yourself and others (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters) when you're in indoor public spaces if you're not fully vaccinated. This is especially important if you have a higher risk of serious illness.
• Avoid contact with anyone who is sick or has symptoms.
• Avoid crowds and indoor places that have poor air flow (ventilation).
• Don't touch frequently touched surfaces, such as handrails, elevator buttons and kiosks. If you must touch these surfaces, use hand sanitizer or wash your hands afterward.
• Wear a face mask in indoor public spaces. The CDC recommends wearing the most protective mask possible that you'll wear regularly and that fits. If you are in an area with a high number of new COVID-19 cases, wear a mask in indoor public places and outdoors in crowded areas or when you're in close contact with people who aren't vaccinated.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Cover coughs and sneezes.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• If soap and water aren't available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub your hands together until they feel dry.
• Don't eat or drink on public transportation. That way you can keep your mask on the whole time.

Because of the high air flow and air filter efficiency on airplanes, most viruses such as the COVID-19 virus don't spread easily on flights. Wearing masks on planes has likely helped lower the risk of getting the COVID-19 virus on flights too.

However, air travel involves spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people. Getting vaccinated and wearing a mask when traveling can help protect you from COVID-19 while traveling.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has increased cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and equipment, including bins, at screening checkpoints. TSA has also made changes to the screening process:

• Travelers must wear masks during screening. However, TSA employees may ask travelers to adjust masks for identification purposes.
• Travelers should keep a distance of 6 feet apart from other travelers when possible.
• Instead of handing boarding passes to TSA officers, travelers should place passes (paper or electronic) directly on the scanner and then hold them up for inspection.
• Each traveler may have one container of hand sanitizer up to 12 ounces (about 350 milliliters) in a carry-on bag. These containers will need to be taken out for screening.
• Personal items such as keys, wallets and phones should be placed in carry-on bags instead of bins. This reduces the handling of these items during screening.
• Food items should be carried in a plastic bag and placed in a bin for screening. Separating food from carry-on bags lessens the likelihood that screeners will need to open bags for inspection.

Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds directly before and after going through screening.

Public transportation

If you travel by bus or train and you aren't vaccinated, be aware that sitting or standing within 6 feet (2 meters) of others for a long period can put you at higher risk of getting or spreading COVID-19 . Follow the precautions described above for protecting yourself during travel.

Even if you fly, you may need transportation once you arrive at your destination. You can search car rental options and their cleaning policies on the internet. If you plan to stay at a hotel, check into shuttle service availability.

If you'll be using public transportation and you aren't vaccinated, continue physical distancing and wearing a mask after reaching your destination.

Hotels and other lodging

The hotel industry knows that travelers are concerned about COVID-19 and safety. Check any major hotel's website for information about how it's protecting guests and staff. Some best practices include:

• Enhanced cleaning procedures
• Physical distancing recommendations indoors for people who aren't vaccinated
• Mask-wearing and regular hand-washing by staff
• Mask-wearing indoors for guests in public places in areas that have high cases of COVID-19
• Vaccine recommendations for staff
• Isolation and testing guidelines for staff who've been exposed to COVID-19
• Contactless payment
• Set of rules in case a guest becomes ill, such as closing the room for cleaning and disinfecting
• Indoor air quality measures, such as regular system and air filter maintenance, and suggestions to add air cleaners that can filter viruses and bacteria from the air

Vacation rentals, too, are enhancing their cleaning procedures. They're committed to following public health guidelines, such as using masks and gloves when cleaning, and building in a waiting period between guests.

Make a packing list

When it's time to pack for your trip, grab any medications you may need on your trip and these essential safe-travel supplies:

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol)
• Disinfectant wipes (at least 70% alcohol)
• Thermometer

Considerations for people at increased risk

Anyone can get very ill from the virus that causes COVID-19 . But older adults and people of any age with certain medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness. This may include people with cancer, serious heart problems and a weakened immune system. Getting the recommended COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses can help lower your risk of being severely ill from COVID-19 .

Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19 . If you're unvaccinated, staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 . If you must travel and aren't vaccinated, talk with your health care provider and ask about any additional precautions you may need to take.

Remember safety first

Even the most detailed and organized plans may need to be set aside when someone gets ill. Stay home if you or any of your travel companions:

• Have signs or symptoms, are sick or think you have COVID-19
• Are waiting for results of a COVID-19 test
• Have been diagnosed with COVID-19
• Have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 in the past five days and you're not up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines

If you've had close contact with someone with COVID-19 , get tested after at least five days. Wait to travel until you have a negative test. Wear a mask if you travel up to 10 days after you've had close contact with someone with COVID-19 .

• How to protect yourself and others. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Domestic travel during COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Requirement for face masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/face-masks-public-transportation.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• International travel. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel/index.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• U.S citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and immigrants: Travel to and from the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Non-US. citizen, non-U.S. immigrants: Air travel to the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/noncitizens-US-air-travel.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• People with certain medical conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Stay up to date with your vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Pack smart. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/pack-smart. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
• Travel: Frequently asked questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/faqs.html. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022.
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) information. Transportation Security Administration. https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022.
• WHO advice for international traffic in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/who-advice-for-international-traffic-in-relation-to-the-sars-cov-2-omicron-variant. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022.
• VRHP/VRMA Cleaning guidelines for COVID-19. Vacation Rental Management Association. https://www.vrma.org/page/vrhp/vrma-cleaning-guidelines-for-covid-19. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022.
• Safe stay. American Hotel & Lodging Association. https://www.ahla.com/safestay. Accessed Feb. 7, 2022.
• Khatib AN, et al. COVID-19 transmission and the safety of air travel during the pandemic: A scoping review. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. 2021; doi:10.1097/QCO.0000000000000771.

Products and Services

• A Book: Endemic - A Post-Pandemic Playbook
• Begin Exploring Women's Health Solutions at Mayo Clinic Store
• A Book: Future Care
• Antibiotics: Are you misusing them?
• COVID-19 and vitamin D
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• COVID-19: Who's at higher risk of serious symptoms?
• Debunking coronavirus myths
• Different COVID-19 vaccines
• Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
• Fever: First aid
• Fever treatment: Quick guide to treating a fever
• Fight coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission at home
• Honey: An effective cough remedy?
• How do COVID-19 antibody tests differ from diagnostic tests?
• How to measure your respiratory rate
• How to take your pulse
• How to take your temperature
• How well do face masks protect against COVID-19?
• Is hydroxychloroquine a treatment for COVID-19?
• Loss of smell
• Mayo Clinic Minute: You're washing your hands all wrong
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• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pregnancy and COVID-19
• Safe outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Safety tips for attending school during COVID-19
• Sex and COVID-19
• Shortness of breath
• Thermometers: Understand the options
• Treating COVID-19 at home
• Unusual symptoms of coronavirus
• Vaccine guidance from Mayo Clinic
• Watery eyes

U.S. travel resources

• Check CDC recommendations for travel within the U.S.
• Review testing requirements for travel to the U.S.
• Look up restrictions at your destination .
• Review airport security measures .

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What's New

Latest news.

Posted April 16, 2024

Bipartisan Partnership Between Secretary Buttigieg and State Attorneys General to Protect Airline Passengers . The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has entered into a bipartisan Airline Passenger Protection Partnership with attorneys general from 18 states and U.S. territories (State AGs) – memorialized in a signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) – to protect aviation consumers from unfair or deceptive practices. DOT and the State AGs will work together to promote compliance with aviation consumer protection requirements and hold airlines and ticket agents accountable.

Posted February 28, 2024

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers with Disabilities Using Wheelchairs . The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing to strengthen its rule implementing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) to ensure passengers who use wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity. The proposed rule would require that airlines do better in accommodating passengers with disabilities by setting new standards for prompt, safe, and dignified assistance, mandating enhanced training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs, and outlining actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged during transport. The proposed rule also clarifies that damaging or delaying the return of a wheelchair is an automatic violation of the ACAA. Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) must be received within 60 days of the date it is published in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2022-0144 .

Click this link to view the NPRM in the Federal Register.  

Click this link for the Word version of the NPRM.

Click this link for the PDF version of the NPRM.

Posted December 18, 2023

DOT Penalizes Southwest Airlines $140 Million for Holiday Meltdown . This consent order assesses $140 million in civil penalties against Southwest Airlines for violations of consumer protection laws during and after the Southwest’s operational failures that stranded over two million passengers over the 2022 Christmas holiday and into the New Year. DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) has determined that Southwest failed to provide: 1) prompt or proper refunds to thousands of passengers for flights the carrier cancelled or significantly changed, 2) prompt flight status notifications to over one million passengers for flight disruptions, and 3) adequate customer service assistance to hundreds of thousands of consumers during the widespread flight irregularities. The order directs Southwest Airlines to cease and desist from future similar violations. As part of this settlement, DOT is closing its unrealistic scheduling investigation without making a finding as its goal is to obtain quick relief for the public.

Posted October 5, 2023

Public Awareness Campaign to Ensure Air Travelers with Disabilities Know Their Rights . In celebration of the 37th anniversary of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched a campaign, #AccessibleAirTravel , to raise awareness about the right of air travelers with disabilities to safe, dignified, and accessible air travel. The Public Awareness Campaign, #AccessibleAirTravel , will draw attention to the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights  through an informative DOT video to empower individuals with disabilities to understand and assert their right to safe, dignified, and accessible air travel. DOT is partnering with airlines, airports, ticket agents, and disability organizations in this campaign to improve public awareness of the Bill of Rights and ensure that travelers with disabilities know their rights by linking to the Bill of Rights video on their respective websites and by sharing the video on social media.

Posted September 28, 2023

Agreement Between U.S. Department of Transportation and United Airlines . The purpose of this agreement is to improve air travel for passengers who travel with wheelchairs. It stems from a disability complaint filed against United by Engracia Figueroa. Under the Agreement, United will take industry-leading actions that go above and beyond Federal requirements. This includes United : (1) rolling out a flight filter on its booking engine to make it easier for passengers who use wheelchairs to find flights where their wheelchairs can fit and be safely transported; (2) refunding the fare difference for passengers using the flight filter when the passenger’s preferred flight cannot accommodate their wheelchair and the flight that they travel on with their wheelchair is more expensive; (3) conducting a pilot program to explore whether additional equipment, such as a medical wheelchair or other form of moveable or non-moveable chair, can be utilized to safely accommodate passengers waiting for loaner wheelchairs; and (4) seeking feedback from each passenger who checks a wheelchair for transport in the aircraft cargo compartment.

Click this link for the Word version of the Agreement.

Click this link for the PDF version of the Agreement.

Posted July 26, 2023

Final Rule – Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft . On the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Department of Transportation today announced a new rule which requires airline lavatories to be more accessible. This rulemaking requires airlines to make lavatories on new single-aisle aircraft large enough to permit a passenger with a disability and an attendant, both equivalent in size to a 95th percentile male, to approach, enter, and maneuver within as necessary to use the aircraft lavatory. The Final Rule can also be found at www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2021-0137.

Posted March 31, 2023

Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees - Recording of Public Hearing . The U.S. Department of Transportation held a virtual public hearing on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees. Click this link to view a full video recording of the public meeting . 

Posted March 21, 2023

Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections - Recording of Public Hearing . The U.S. Department of Transportation held a virtual public hearing on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections. Click this link to view a full video recording of the public meeting .

Posted March 13, 2023

Family Seating Legislative Proposal . On Friday, March 10, 2023, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent letters to the leaders of Congress urging passage of the Administration's  proposed legislation to ensure young kids are seated next to at least one parent or other accompanying adult without getting charged a junk fee. 

Posted March 9, 2023

Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections .  This Notice announces the rescheduling of a virtual public hearing on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections, originally scheduled for March 14, 2023.  DOT is postponing this hearing for one week, now to be held on March 21 at 10:00 am  Eastern Time, to provide participants more time to prepare for the hearing.  DOT is also extending the time of the hearing to ensure all participants have adequate opportunity to speak.  DOT has not made any changes to the topics to be discussed at the hearing. Detailed information about the issues to be discussed at the hearing is available at the earlier notice .  Register here .  Participants who already registered for the March 14 hearing (now rescheduled to March 21) should re-register at this link. 

Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees . This Notice announces the rescheduling of a virtual public hearing on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees, originally scheduled for March 16.  DOT is postponing this hearing for two weeks, now to be held on March 30 at 9:00 am  Eastern Time, to provide participants more time to prepare for the hearing. DOT is also extending the time of the hearing to ensure all participants have adequate opportunity to speak. DOT has not made any changes to the topics to be discussed at the hearing. Detailed information about the issues to be discussed at the hearing is available at the earlier notice . Register here .  Participants who already registered for the March 16 hearing (now rescheduled to March 30) should re-register at this link. The Department is also reopening the comment period for this rulemaking from the date of publication in the Federal Register to April 6 (one week after the hearing) based on a request by Travelers United. Comments may be submitted here .

Posted January 23, 2023

Procedural Information Regarding Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees Notice of Proposed Rulemaking . The comment period on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees, which was published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2022, closes today, Monday, January 23, 2023. The NPRM provided for a comment period of 60 days after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register, i.e., December 19, 2022, and was subsequently extended to January 23, 2023, in response to commenter requests. On Friday, January 20, 2023, DOT denied a request by Travel Technology Association to extend the comment period beyond January 23, 2023. The following day, Traveler’s United submitted a request for additional time to comment on this NPRM. DOT will consider the request by Traveler’s United and publish a decision whether to reopen the comment period in the Federal Register. In the meanwhile, we remind the public that late filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable. Further, to facilitate the public’s consideration of this NPRM, DOT has summarized in this notice the recommendations adopted by the ACPAC at its January 12 meeting -- a video recording of the full meeting was previously posted publicly on DOT’s website.

Posted January 20, 2023

Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees - Denial of Request for Extension of Comment Period . The Department of Transportation declines to extend the comment period beyond January 23, 2023 for its proposed rule on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees. On January 18, 2023, the Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) filed a request to extend the comment period for this NPRM to review and respond to the recommendations on the rulemaking that resulted from the January 12 meeting of the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC). Travel Tech stated that it and others were not able to view the meeting when it occurred, and that, at the time the organization requested an extension, the meeting materials had not yet been posted to the public docket. DOT finds insufficient basis to extend further the comment period for the Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees NPRM as stakeholders were provided sufficient notice of the ACPAC meeting in advance, and the Federal Register notice announcing the meeting noted that the ACPAC intended to deliberate and decide on recommendations, if any, regarding ancillary fee transparency. The meeting was publicly viewable on the date it was held. Further, materials from the ACPAC’s January 12 meeting, including a video recording of the full meeting , have been posted publicly and can be viewed on the DOT’s website or on regulations.gov (Docket DOT-OST-2018-0190). Moreover, DOT believes members of the public have had sufficient time, nearly 4 months, to consider the proposed rule and to file comments. 

Posted January 3, 2023

Notice Regarding Investigatory and Enforcement Policies and Procedures . The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel, is issuing this notice to explain its investigatory and enforcement policies and practices and reaffirm its commitment to vigorously enforce the law to protect aviation consumers.  A robust enforcement program is necessary to protect the rights of the traveling public, particularly given the unprecedented increase in air travel service complaints received by the Department against airlines and ticket agents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. To confront the challenges faced by consumers, OACP believes that it is necessary to recalibrate the penalties imposed on airlines and ticket agents for violations of consumer protection, civil rights and economic licensing requirements. OACP intends to hold the regulated entities accountable and deter future misconduct by seeking higher penalties that would not be viewed as simply a cost of doing business.

Posted December 28, 2022

Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee - Notice of Public Meeting . The U.S. Department of Transportation announces a public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC), to be held virtually to deliberate on the Department's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees; and to vote on recommendations regarding the Department's NPRM on Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections. The virtual meeting will be held on Thursday, January 12, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Registration information is provided in the Notice.

Posted December 14, 2022

Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees- Extension of Comment Period.  The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) is extending through January 23, 2023, the period for interested persons to submit comments to its proposed rule on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees.  The Department received requests for extension from Airlines for America (A4A) and International Air Transportation Association (IATA); Travel Technology Association, American Society of Travel Advisors, and Global Business Travel Association; National Air Carrier Association; and Sabre Corporation.  A4A and IATA have also asked for clarification on various issues in the NPRM. The Department’s responses to the questions raised by airlines will be posted in the rulemaking docket at https://www.regulations.gov , docket DOT-OST-2022-0109.

Posted November 14, 2022

Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections – Extension of Comment Period . The U.S. Department of Transportation is extending through December 16, 2022, the period for interested persons to submit comments to its proposed rule on Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections. In the request for extension of comment period, Airlines for America and International Air Transport Association (Airline Petitioners) seek clarifications from the Department on various issues raised in the NPRM. The Travel Technology Association, the American Society of Travel Advisors, and the Travel Management Coalition (Distribution Petitioners) also state that several issues raised by Airline Petitioners are of particular interest to Distribution Petitioners and the Department’s clarifications on those issues are needed for them to prepare comments on those issues. The Department’s responses to the list of questions raised by Airline Petitioners have been posted in the rulemaking docket, www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2022-0089.

Posted November 10, 2022

Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee - Notice of Public Meeting . The U.S. Department of Transportation announces a two-day public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC), to be held virtually to discuss the Department's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees, and for the ACPAC to deliberate on the following three topics: (1) information provided to consumers adversely affected by airline delays or cancellations; (2) availability of airline flight information; and (3) the Department’s NPRM on Airline Ticket Refunds. The virtual meeting will be held on December 8 and 9, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Registration information is provided in the Notice . The Notice also provides information on how interested parties can request an opportunity to make remarks at the meeting

Posted September 26, 2022

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees . The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing a rule which would significantly strengthen protections for consumers by ensuring any fees charged to seat a young child with an accompanying adult, change or cancel a flight, or travel with a first checked bag, a second checked bag, or a carry-on bag would be disclosed whenever fare and schedule information is provided for flights to, within, and from the United States. These fees would be required to be displayed as passenger-specific or itinerary-specific based on the consumer’s choice. The proposal would also require airlines and ticket agents to enable consumers traveling with young children to purchase adjacent seats with their airline tickets at all points of sale. Airlines that do not charge a fee for adjacent seating to those traveling with a young child would not be required to disclose or make transactable adjacent seating fees. The Department further proposes to require that carriers provide useable, current, and accurate information to ticket agents regarding baggage fees, change fees, cancellation fees, and adjacent seating fees for families traveling with young children, if any, to ticket agents that sell or display the carrier’s fare and schedule information. The Department does not dictate the method that carriers would use to share fee information with ticket agents. 

Comments on the NPRM must be received within 60 days of the date it is published in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on  www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2022-0109.

Posted August 26, 2022

Guidance Regarding Interpretation of Unfair and Deceptive Practices . The Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is issuing this guidance to inform the public and regulated entities about DOT’s interpretation of the terms unfair, deceptive, and practices as it relates to its statutory authority to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices. The Department is taking this action to better define the terms unfair and deceptive in response to an Executive order issued by President Biden on July 9, 2021, on promoting competition in the American economy.

Posted August 3, 2022

Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee - Notice of Public Meeting. The U.S. Department of Transportation announces a public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC), to be held virtually to discuss the Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections. The virtual meeting will be held on Monday, August 22, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Registration information is provided in the Notice. The Notice also provides information on how interested parties can request an opportunity to make remarks at the meeting.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer Protections. The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) is proposing to codify its longstanding interpretation that it is an unfair business practice for a U.S. air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or a ticket agent to refuse to provide requested refunds to consumers when a carrier has cancelled or made a significant change to a scheduled flight to, from, or within the United States, and consumers found the alternative transportation offered by the carrier or the ticket agent to be unacceptable. The Department is also proposing to require that U.S. and foreign air carriers and ticket agents provide non-expiring travel vouchers or credits to consumers holding non-refundable tickets for scheduled flights to, from, or within the United States who are unable to travel as scheduled in certain circumstances related to a serious communicable disease. Furthermore, the Department is proposing to require U.S. and foreign air carriers and ticket agents provide refunds, in lieu of non-expiring travel vouchers or credits, if the carrier or ticket agent received significant financial assistance from the government as a result of a public health emergency. The NPRM proposes to allow carriers and ticket agents to require consumers provide evidence to support their assertion of entitlement to a travel voucher, credit, or refund.

Comments on the NPRM must be received within 90 days of the date it is published in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2022-0089.

Posted July 8, 2022

Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights . The U.S. Department of Transportation worked with members of the Air Carrier Access Act Advisory Committee, which includes voices from the disability community and industry stakeholders, to create the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights describes the fundamental rights of air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation. This easy-to-use summary will empower travelers to understand their rights and help the travel industry uphold those rights.

Notice Encouraging U.S. Airlines to Have Policies that Enable Children To Be Seated Adjacent to an Accompanying Adult to the Maximum Extent Practicable and at No Additional Cost .  The Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) has issued a notice urging U.S. airlines to do everything in their power to ensure that children who are age 13 or younger are seated next to an accompanying adult with no additional charge. Although the Department receives a low number of complaints from consumers about family seating, there continue to be complaints of instances where young children, including a child as young as 11 months, are not seated next to an accompanying adult. In four months from the date of this Notice, OACP plans to initiate a review of airline policies and consumer complaints filed with the Department. If airlines’ seating policies and practices are barriers to a child sitting next to an adult family member or other accompanying adult family member, the Department will consider additional action consistent with its authorities.  

Posted May 26, 2022

Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee - Notice of Public Meeting . The U.S. Department of Transportation announces that the public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) which was originally scheduled to be held on March 21 and 22, 2022 is rescheduled to June 28 and 29, 2022. In addition, one of the topics planned for discussion at the rescheduled meeting has changed from Airline Ticket Refunds to Airline Ancillary Service Fees.

Posted March 18, 2022

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft:  Part 2 .  DOT has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to require airlines to ensure that at least one lavatory on new single-aisle aircraft with 125 or more passenger seats is large enough to permit a passenger with a disability (with the help of an assistant, if necessary) to approach, enter, and maneuver within the aircraft lavatory, as necessary, to use all lavatory facilities and leave by means of the aircraft’s on-board wheelchair.

In 2020, DOT issued an NPRM titled “ Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft:  Part 1 ” (“Part 1 NPRM”).  In the Part 1 NPRM, DOT proposed a number of accessibility improvements that did not involve expanding the size of the lavatory itself, including improvements to lavatory interiors (accessible handles, faucets, etc.), training and information requirements, and improvements to the design of the aircraft’s on-board wheelchair.  

The NPRM announced today is “ Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft:  Part 2 ” (“Part 2 NPRM”).

Comments to the Part 2 NPRM must be received within 60 days of the date the notice being published in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2021-0137.

Posted March 10, 2022

Public Meeting on Air Travel by Persons Who Use Wheelchairs . The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) hosted a virtual public meeting regarding air travel by persons who use wheelchairs on Thursday, March 24, 2022. Further information on the meeting, including links to the recordings, can be found here .

On November 11, 2021, the Department issued a Federal Register notice announcing two meetings of the ACPAC, the first to be held on December 2, 2021 and the second to be held on March 21 and 22, 2022.  The ACPAC met on December 2, 2021 as planned and discussed two topics, one of which was Airline Ticket Refunds.  The Department planned to continue discussion of the Airline Ticket Refunds topic at the March 21 and 22, 2022 meeting concurrently with the projected date of the public comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Airline Ticket Refund and Consumer Protections (RIN 2105-AF04).  Taking into account delays associated with the rulemaking process and the availability of the ACPAC members, the meeting originally scheduled for March 21 and 22, 2022 is being postponed.  A Federal Register notice announcing the new date for the ACPAC meeting will be issued soon.

Posted January 24, 2022

DOT Announces Rule to Help Department Move More Swiftly to Protect Aviation Consumers from Unfair and Deceptive Practices . The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) today announced a final rule that will help it move more swiftly to protect aviation consumers from unfair and deceptive practices. The rule will simplify and speed up the hearing procedures that the Department uses when it issues aviation consumer protection rulemakings to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices by airlines and ticket agents. The Department’s upcoming consumer protection rulemakings on airline ticket refunds and transparency of airline ancillary fees will also be based on the authority to prevent unfair and deceptive practices. Currently, if the Department proposes a rulemaking that would protect aviation consumers from an unfair or deceptive practice by an airline or ticket agent, interested parties have the right to ask for a hearing to examine whether the Department’s views are based on a proper economic or scientific foundation. The rule announced today will still provide all interested parties with an opportunity to be heard while providing the Department with greater flexibility to help prevent aviation consumer protection rulemakings from being delayed. The final rule will enable the Department to speed up the rulemaking process and protect consumers by providing the agency with greater flexibility to appoint appropriate hearing officers, eliminating the requirement for the officer to issue a detailed report, and providing more options for the officer on when and how testimony is presented at the hearing. The final rule also clarifies that hearings will only be granted if they are in the public interest.  

Along with these updated procedures, the Department also announced that it intends, in the near future, to issue an interpretive rule, also known as guidance, on the definitions of “unfair” and “deceptive” for purposes of aviation consumer protection. The interpretive rule will further explain the meanings of the terms as defined in the regulation. 

Posted December 15, 2021

Joint Meeting Public Notice.  On December 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Architectural Transportation Barriers and Compliance Board (Access Board) are jointly hosting a public meeting, to be held virtually, on a DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued on January 2, 2020 and on Access Board’s proposed advisory guidelines for aircraft onboard wheelchairs issued on August 20, 2019.  The NPRM proposed specific measures for improving accessibility of lavatories on single-aisle aircraft for passengers with disabilities.  The public meeting will focus on one aspect of this NPRM – improvements to the aircraft’s onboard wheelchair (OBW).  The meeting will also serve as a means for the Access Board to gather additional information on onboard wheelchair loads and onboard wheelchair casters before finalizing its advisory guidelines for aircraft onboard wheelchairs, which potentially could be a means of complying with OBW performance standards established by the Department. 

The Word version of the Meeting Agenda can be found here:  Word Version .  The PDF version of the Meeting Agenda can be found here:  PDF Version .

Posted November 23, 2021

DOT Secures Record $4.5 Million Agreement with Air Canada to Settle Refund Case Involving Thousands of Consumers . Today, the DOT Office of Hearings approved the Settlement Agreement filed by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) and Air Canada. The settlement resolves OACP’s action against the carrier for its extreme delays in providing refunds to thousands of consumers for flights to or from the United States that the carrier canceled or significantly changed. The agreement marks the highest amount OACP has ever assessed against an airline. In addition to the $4.5 million settlement, Air Canada would agree going forward to refund airfare to passengers who purchase nonrefundable tickets to or from the United States whose flights are cancelled or significantly changed by the carrier. Of the $4.5 million assessed, $2.5 million would be credited to Air Canada for refunding passengers who purchased a nonrefundable ticket for a flight to or from the United States that the passenger ultimately decided not to take. The remaining $2 million would be paid to the U.S. Treasury. The settlement agreement and other related materials can be found at www.regulations.gov , docket DOT-OST-2021-0073.

Posted November 17, 2021

Public Meetings of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee . The Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) will hold public meetings on December 2, 2021 and March 21-22, 2022.

• December 2, 2021 Meeting: The first meeting will be held virtually from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET. The ACPAC will discuss two topics: (1) Airline Ticket Refunds and (2) Information for Consumers Adversely Affected by Airline Delays or Cancellations. To register and attend this virtual meeting, please click this link:  Webinar Registration .
• March 21-22, 2022 Meeting: The second meeting is tentatively planned to be held in-person at the DOT headquarters building in Washington, D.C. from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET. Attendance is open to the public, up to the room's capacity of 100 attendees. The ACPAC will discuss two topics: (1) Airline Ticket Refunds (continued from the first meeting) and (2) Enhancing Consumer Access to Airline Flight Information. To register for the second in-person meeting, please contact the Department by email at [email protected] . 

Posted September 21, 2021

Clarification of Departmental Position on American Airlines – JetBlue Airways Northeast Alliance Joint Venture . By this notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) clarifies its position on the American Airlines (American) and JetBlue Airways (JetBlue) Northeast Alliance (NEA) joint venture agreements and the January 10, 2021 agreement between and among DOT, JetBlue, and American (DOT Agreement) terminating the Department’s review of the NEA, following the September 21, 2021 announcement of antitrust litigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Department will work closely with DOJ should it seek data and documents that will help in the resolution of DOJ’s action. The DOT Agreement remains in effect during the pendency of the DOJ litigation. The Department retains independent statutory authority under 49 U.S.C. 41712 to prohibit unfair methods of competition in air transportation to further its statutory objectives to prevent predatory or anticompetitive practices and to avoid unreasonable industry concentration. However, the Department intends to defer to DOJ, as the primary enforcer of Federal antitrust laws, to resolve the antitrust concerns that DOJ has identified with respect to the NEA. The Department also intends to stay the proceedings in a Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Spirit) formal complaint against the NEA’s implementation while the DOJ action is pending. The Department will assess its next steps, if any, relating to the Spirit complaint and the NEA at the conclusion of the DOJ litigation.

Posted September 9, 2021

DOT Report on Airline Ticket Refunds . This report responds to the requirement in section 5, paragraph(m)(i)(C) of Executive Order 14036 on Promoting Competition in the American Economy to describe the Department’s progress in its investigatory and enforcement activities to address the failure of airlines to provide timely refunds for flights cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Department’s efforts are an essential tool to ensure that airlines do not abuse vulnerable travelers during a pandemic. The report provides information regarding the airline ticket refund complaints that the Department received during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department’s authority to investigate such complaints and take enforcement action, the Department’s efforts to ensure airlines comply with their refund obligations, the Department’s pending refund investigations and enforcement actions, and other activities undertaken by the Department to address difficulties passengers encountered in obtaining airline ticket refunds.

Posted July 9, 2021

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) - Refunding Fees for Delayed Checked Bags and Ancillary Services that Are Not Provided . The U.S. Department of Transportation is issuing an NPRM that would require airlines to refund fees for checked bags that are significantly delayed and for ancillary services, such as advance seat selection and wi-fi, when consumers pay for them but they are not provided.  Under an existing DOT rule, passengers are entitled to a fee refund if their checked bags are lost. The NPRM proposes to require airlines to also refund checked baggage fees when the baggage is delayed beyond 12 hours for domestic flights and beyond 25 hours for international flights. It also proposes to require airlines to promptly provide a refund to a passenger of any fees paid for ancillary services anytime that the services are not provided by the airline.  The Department’s existing rule states that airlines are required to refund fees for services that were not provided due to an oversale situation or flight cancellation.

Posted February 5, 2021

Accommodation by Carriers of Persons with Disabilities Who Are Unable to Wear or Safely Wear Masks While on Commercial Aircraft - Notice of Enforcement Policy . The Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is issuing this Notice of Enforcement Policy to remind U.S. and foreign air carriers of their legal obligation to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities when developing procedures to implement the Federal mandate on the use of masks to mitigate the public health risks associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019. OACP will exercise its prosecutorial discretion and provide airlines 45 days from the date of this notice to be in compliance with their obligation under the Air Carrier Access Act and the Department’s implementing regulation in 14 CFR Part 382 to provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities who are unable to wear or safely wear masks, so long as the airlines demonstrate that they began the process of compliance as soon as this notice was issued.

Posted January 21, 2021

At the direction of President Biden, the White House Chief of Staff issued a Memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies to immediately withdraw any rulemaking documents that have been sent to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) but not published in the Federal Register, subject to certain exceptions, to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to review new or pending rules.  Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) is withdrawing the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Airfare Advertising and the Final Rule on Tarmac Delay, both of which have been sent to the OFR but have not yet been published in the Federal Register.  The Department has also removed these two documents from Regulations.gov in Dockets DOT-OST-2021-0007 and DOT-OST-2019-0144 and the Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection website.

Posted January 15, 2021

Oversales and Domestic Baggage – Final Rule .  The U.S. Department of Transportation is issuing a final rule to revise its oversales regulation, 14 CFR Part 250, by clarifying that the maximum amount of Denied Boarding Compensation that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited, and by prohibiting airlines from involuntarily denying boarding to a passenger after the passenger’s boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has boarded, subject to safety and security exceptions. Further, pursuant to existing regulations, this final rule raises the liability limits for denied boarding compensation that U.S. and foreign air carriers may impose from the current figures of $675 and $1,350 to $775 and $1,550. Also, in accordance with existing regulations, this final rule revises 14 CFR Part 254 to raise the liability limit U.S. carriers may impose for mishandled baggage in domestic air transportation, adjusting the limit of liability from the current amount of $3,500 to $3,800.

U.S. DOT Service Animal Forms . On December 10, 2020, the Department published in the Federal Register a final rule, Traveling by Air with Service Animals.  In that final rule, the Department allows airlines to require passengers traveling with service animals to provide airlines with two forms of documentation developed by the Department – a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form and a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form (DOT service animal forms).  

Airlines that require the DOT service animal forms must make the forms available to passengers on their website in an accessible format. DOT is providing a sample accessible fillable PDF version of the DOT service animal forms on its Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) website.  Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for download free of charge at https://get.adobe.com/reader , is needed to open the PDF version of the DOT service animal forms.  Although DOT is providing these forms in PDF format, DOT encourages airlines to use an accessible web format such as HTML for the forms. Typically, for usability reasons, an accessible web format rather than PDF is used by entities when the data entered onto a form is received by the entity posting the form. Also, using an accessible web format, like HTML, has the added benefit of ensuring that the forms are accessible on mobile devices.

Finally, although the DOT service animal forms require a service animal user to identify the service animal’s name, we advise airline personnel against speaking the service animal’s name to avoid distracting the dog and having the dog’s attention on the speaker, which may interfere with the animal’s ability to assist its handler with his or her disability and diminish the handler’s ability to maintain control of the dog.

U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form

U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form 

Posted December 23, 2020

Notice of Withdrawal of Request for Information on Exploring Industry Practices on Distribution and Display of Airline Fare, Schedule, and Availability Information .  The Department of Transportation is withdrawing a Request for Information that solicited information on whether airline restrictions on the distribution or display of airline flight information harm consumers and constitute an unfair and deceptive business practice and/or an unfair method of competition.  

Posted December 22, 2020

On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) published in the Federal Register a final rule to amend the Department’s Air Carrier Access Act regulation on the transport of service animals by air.  In that final rule, the Department allows airlines to require passengers traveling with service animals to provide carriers with two forms of documentation developed by the Department – a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form and a U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation Form. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), no person is required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.  In accordance with this requirement, the Department announces that OMB has assigned control number “2105-0576” to the information collection requirements found in the Traveling by Air with Service Animals final rule.  The expiration date for these forms is December 31, 2023.  

The statement, which appears at the top of the Department’s service animal forms published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2020, states “According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  The OMB control number for this information collection is ______________.”  This statement must be replaced with the following PRA burden statement: “According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The estimated burden to complete this form is 15 minutes. The OMB control number for this information collection is 2105-0576. The authority for the collection expires on December 31, 2023.”  

Posted December 2, 2020

Final Rule - Traveling by Air with Service Animals . This final rule amends the Department’s Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transport of service animals by air.  This final rule is intended to ensure that our air transportation system is safe for the traveling public and accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Posted November 27,  2020

Final Rule - Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices .  The Department has the statutory authority to protect airline consumers from unfair or deceptive practices by airlines or ticket agents, and most of its aviation consumer protections regulations are based on that authority.  However, the terms unfair or deceptive are not defined in the statute.  This rule defines those terms and is intended to provide regulated entities and other stakeholders clarity and certainty about what constitutes unfair or deceptive practices and the Department’s process for making such determinations in the context of aviation consumer protection rulemaking and enforcement actions.

Posted August 25, 2020

September 24, 2020 Meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.  The next public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) will be held virtually on September 24, 2020.  The ACPAC members will discuss and deliberate on three topics: (1) the report of the National In-Flight Sexual Misconduct Task Force (Task Force), an ACPAC subcommittee; (2) transparency of airline ancillary service fees; and (3) involuntary changes to travel itineraries.  Virtual attendance is open to the public, to register please email the Department at [email protected] .

The Department’s press release announcing the meeting is available here .

Posted May 12, 2020

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Airline Ticket Refunds Given the Unprecedented Impact of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on Air Travel - The Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Aviation Enforcement Office), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel, is providing answers to some of the most common questions about refunds to help consumers understand their rights and to ensure airlines and ticket agents are complying with aviation consumer protection requirements.

Posted April 29, 2020

Notice Regarding Current Administration and Enforcement of The Essential Air Service Program - The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs is providing notice that it will authorize subsidy payments for certain non-completed flights under the Essential Air Service (EAS) Program given the significant reduction in passenger demand caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency and the financial impact on air carriers.

Posted April 23, 2020

Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices - Grant of Request for Extension of Comment Period -  The U.S. Department of Transportation has determined that an extension of the comment period for an additional 30 days is appropriate.

Posted April 17, 2020

Notice  - Reporting of Causes of Flight Delays and Cancellations Given The Unprecedented Impact Of The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency On Air Travel.

Posted April 7, 2020

Denial of Request for Extension of Comment Period - Traveling by Air with Service Animals NPRM - The U.S. Department of Transportation is denying the requests to extend the comment period on the Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Traveling by Air with Service Animals.  The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2020.

Posted April 3, 2020

Enforcement Notice Regarding Refunds by Carriers Given the Unprecedented Impact of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on Air Travel - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, a unit within the Office of the General Counsel, is issuing this notice to remind the traveling public and U.S. and foreign carriers that passengers should be refunded promptly when their scheduled flights are cancelled or significantly delayed.  Although the COVID-19 public health emergency has had an unprecedented impact on air travel, the airlines’ obligation to refund passengers for cancelled or significantly delayed flights remains unchanged.

Posted March 16, 2020

A Report on Sexual Misconduct on Commercial Flights by the National In-Flight Sexual Misconduct Task Force  -  On March 16, 2020, the Task Force submitted a report to the Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee on awareness, training, reporting, and data collection regarding incidents of sexual misconduct by passengers onboard commercial aircraft.

Posted March 2, 2020

Enforcement Notice Regarding Denying Boarding by Airlines of Individuals Suspected of Having Coronavirus - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings’ (Enforcement Office), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel, regulates whether airlines may limit access to transportation because a passenger has a communicable disease.  The Enforcement Office is issuing this notice to advise the public that airlines may screen passengers during the check-in and boarding process for flights to the United States from countries with travel health notices issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) stemming from an outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  If passengers seeking to travel from these countries to the United States display symptoms of COVID-19, airlines may deny boarding to them under certain circumstances.  

Posted February 20, 2020

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices . The Department of Transportation is proposing to amend its regulations regarding unfair or deceptive practices in aviation consumer protection. This rulemaking would define unfair and deceptive practices by airlines and ticket agents in air transportation. This rulemaking would also amend and clarify the procedures that the Department would follow when engaging in aviation consumer protection rulemaking and enforcement based on its authority to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices.

The comment period closes 60 days from publication of the rulemaking in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2019-0182 .

Posted January 22, 2020

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) - Traveling by Air with Service Animals . In the Department’s Traveling by Air with Service Animals Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Department proposes the following changes to its current Air Carrier Access Act service animal rule in 14 CFR Part 382: 

• Definition of Service Animal:  The Department proposes to define a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.  This proposed definition of a service animal is similar to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of a service animal.
• Emotional Support Animals :  The Department’s proposed rulemaking does not require airlines to recognize emotional support animals as service animals.  Airlines would be permitted to treat emotional support animals, which are not trained to do work or perform a task for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, as pets.
• Species :  Under the Department’s proposed rule, airlines would only be required to transport dogs as service animals.  As a result, airlines would no longer be required to accommodate miniature horses, cats, rabbits, birds, and all other service animals that airlines are currently required to transport.   
• Documentation:  Airlines would be permitted to require passengers with a disability traveling with a service animal to complete and submit to the airline the following forms developed by DOT as a condition of transportation: (1) U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Health Form, to be completed by a veterinarian in order to certify the animal’s good health; (2) U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Behavior and Training Attestation Form, to be completed by the service animal handler in order to attest to the animal’s good behavior; and (3) U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation, to be completed by the service animal handler when traveling with a service animal on a flight eight hours or longer in order to verify that the animal has the ability to either not relieve itself, or can relieve itself in a sanitary manner.  Under the Department’s proposal, these three documents would be the only documents that an airline could require from an individual with a disability traveling with a service animal. The DOT forms would include a warning that it would be a Federal crime for a service animal handler to make false statements or representations on these forms to secure disability accommodations. 
• Check-In Requirements:  The Department proposes to allow airlines to require all passengers with a disability traveling with a service animal to check in one-hour before the check-in time for the general public as a condition for travel with a service animal to allow time to process the service animal documentation and observe the animal.  However, the Department also proposes that if an airline imposes the one-hour check-in requirement on passengers traveling with service animals, the airline must designate a location in the airport for these passengers to check-in promptly by a trained agent.
• Number of Service Animals Per Passenger:   The Department’s NPRM proposes to require airlines to accept up to two service animals per passenger for transport on an aircraft.  In order to determine if the animal qualifies as a service animal, airlines are permitted to ask passengers with disabilities if the animal is required to accompany the passenger because of a disability, and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform, but the airline must not ask the passenger the nature of his or her disability, nor are airlines permitted to ask service animals to demonstrate the work or tasks they have been trained to perform.  
• Large Service Animals: The Department proposes to allow airlines to limit service animals based on whether the animal can fit onto the service animal handler’s lap or within the handler’s foot space.  Airlines would be permitted to reject service animals that are too large to fit on these spaces. 
• Control of the Animal:   The Department proposes to continue to permit airlines to require that service animals be harnessed, leashed, tethered or otherwise under the control of its handler at all times in the airport and on the aircraft.  In general, tethering and similar means of controlling an animal that are permitted in the Americans with Disabilities Act context would be reasonable in the context of controlling service animals in the airport and on the aircraft.
• Direct Threat: The Department proposes to continue to allow airlines to refuse to transport a service animal if the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.  In determining whether to deny transport to a serve animal on the basis that the animal poses a direct threat, the NPRM specifies that airline must make an individualized assessment based on reasonable judgments that relies on the best available objective evidence to ascertain the nature, duration, and severity of the risk; the probability that the potential injury will occur; and whether reasonable modifications will mitigate the risk.
• Breed Restrictions:  The Department proposes to continue prohibiting airlines from imposing breed and other categorical restrictions on service animals.  In the NPRM, the Department proposes explicit language that states that airlines are not permitted to refuse to transport service animals based on breed. 

The comment period closes 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments can be filed on www.regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2018-0068 .

The Department has published a Notice  to inform U.S. and certain foreign air carriers of inflation adjustments to liability limits of air carriers and foreign air carriers under the Montreal Convention.   The adjustments affect limits on liability for damages for passenger death or injury, delay in the carriage of passengers, and the loss, delay or damage to baggage or cargo, increasing those limits by nearly 14 percent. This increase became effective on December 28, 2019.

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F.A.A. Will Require More Rest for Air Traffic Controllers

The agency announced new rules to address the dangers of exhaustion for controllers, who often work grueling round-the-clock schedules.

By Sydney Ember

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that it was taking significant steps to mitigate the risks posed by exhaustion among air traffic controllers, after a series of close calls last year raised alarms about the safety of the U.S. air travel system.

Mike Whitaker, the F.A.A. administrator, issued a directive increasing the number of hours that controllers are required to rest between shifts from nine hours to 10, and 12 hours before a midnight shift. He said he hoped to put the changes in place within 90 days.

The announcement came as the air safety regulator released a 114-page report from an expert panel that assessed the risks associated with air traffic controller fatigue.

“We are committed to a sustained effort to address controller fatigue and ensure our airspace is the safest in the world,” Mr. Whitaker said in a statement.

The F.A.A. established the panel in December in the wake of a New York Times investigation that revealed how a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers had resulted in an exhausted and demoralized work force that was increasingly prone to making dangerous mistakes. Many air traffic controllers were working round-the-clock schedules that had pushed them to the psychological and physical brink.

The Times reported that virtually all of the nation’s air traffic control sites were understaffed, forcing many controllers to work 10-hour days, six days a week.

“Growing the work force continues to be a top priority, and over the past two years we’ve pulled out all of the stops to accelerate hiring,” Mr. Whitaker said on Friday, adding, “Getting more qualified individuals into our air traffic facilities will help alleviate the demands on the current work force.”

A series of Times articles last year showed how the nation’s aviation safety system was under mounting stress . While the last fatal crash involving a major U.S. airline was more than a decade ago, potentially dangerous close calls had been happening, on average, multiple times a week last year, and some air traffic controllers said they feared that a deadly crash was inevitable. The Times found that errors by air traffic controllers had been one major factor.

Just this week, there were at least two incidents that appeared to involve air traffic controller mistakes at two of the country’s major airports. On Thursday at Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, a Southwest Airlines flight was instructed to cross the same runway that a JetBlue Airways plane, Flight 1554, was cleared by a controller to take off from.

As the JetBlue plane accelerated, another controller yelled: “JetBlue 1554, stop! JetBlue 1554, stop!” The plane abruptly aborted its takeoff, but it came within as little as 312 feet of the Southwest plane, according to preliminary F.A.A. safety reports and recordings reviewed by The Times, putting it moments away from a potential crash. The controller who cleared the Southwest plane to cross the runway did so without prior coordination with the other controller.

The controller who cleared the JetBlue plane to take off was in training, according to one of the reports, and the controller who cleared the Southwest plane to cross the same runway had been working for more than two hours straight, longer than the F.A.A. recommends.

A system designed to alert controllers to potential collisions on runways, known as ASDE-X, appears not to have triggered an alert, according to reports on the incident.

The other incident, which has not been previously reported, occurred on Wednesday at Kennedy International Airport in New York, when a Swiss International Air Lines flight was cleared to take off on the same runway that four other planes were instructed to cross. The Swiss plane accelerated 800 feet down the runway before the pilot, citing “traffic on the runway,” aborted its takeoff to avoid a potential collision, according to preliminary F.A.A. safety reports and a recording.

The controller who cleared the Swiss flight had told the other controller to have the four planes cross after the Swiss flight, but the controller instructed the planes to cross ahead of the Swiss flight instead.

The F.A.A. said it would investigate the incidents. The National Transportation Safety Board said it had opened an investigation into the episode at Kennedy and was gathering information regarding the one at Reagan National.

In the report released by the F.A.A. on Friday, the expert panel identified 58 “opportunities” for efforts to address the risks posed by fatigue, including coming up with a plan to eliminate a common rotating schedule known as the rattler.

Under the rattler schedule, a controller might start his first shift of the week in the afternoon, with subsequent shifts beginning progressively earlier. The week would then culminate with a 24-hour period in which the controller worked both an early morning shift and, as few as eight hours later, overnight duty. Many controllers told The Times that, coupled with mandatory overtime, the schedule was exceptionally grueling.

In a statement, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents controllers, said it was encouraged that the F.A.A. was paying attention to fatigue but was concerned that the changes the agency announced would constrain the controller work force and affect air travel.

“F.A.A. has not modeled these changes to determine what unintended consequences they may have to the already strained air traffic control staffing coverage,” the union said, adding that it was worried that applying the new rules immediately “may lead to coverage holes in air traffic facilities’ schedules.”

Sydney Ember is a Times business reporter, covering the U.S. economy and the labor market. More about Sydney Ember

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