From: DOTNews@OST.DOT.GOV [mailto:DOTNews@OST.DOT.GOV]
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 10:43 AM
To: DOTNEWS@www.DOT.GOV
Subject: DOT Proposes Rule to Require Airlines to Provide In-Flight Medical Oxygen Without Charge

 DOT 123-05
Contact: Bill Mosley, Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Wednesday, September 7, 2005

DOT Proposes Rule to Require Airlines to Provide In-Flight Medical Oxygen Without Charge

Many U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating to and from the United States would be required to provide medical oxygen without charge to passengers who need it during flight, under a new rule proposed today by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This proposed requirement would apply to all passenger carriers operating at least one aircraft with more than 60 seats.

The Department is proposing this requirement because passengers needing supplemental oxygen on flights have long experienced significant difficulties in obtaining the services they need in order to fly. Currently, airlines are not required to provide medical oxygen to passengers, and many choose to not offer it. Those that do may require passengers to pay for the service, sometimes at a prohibitively high cost.

“Passengers who use oxygen deserve the same access to our air transportation system as do travelers with other disabilities or medical conditions,� said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. “This rulemaking continues our effort to ensure that Americans with disabilities are treated fairly when they travel by air.�

Airlines also are not required to allow passengers to use their own portable oxygen concentrators onboard aircraft, although a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule permitted carriers to allow passengers to use Airsep Lifestyle and Inogen One portable oxygen concentrator devices aboard an aircraft if certain safety conditions are met.

The proposal, if made final, also would require all U.S. air carriers and foreign air carriers operating to and from the United States, except for on-demand air taxis, to test four types of respiratory assistive devices to ensure that they will not cause interference with aircraft navigation or communication systems. These four types of respiratory devices are ventilators, respirators,continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and certain portable oxygen concentrators. Passengers who use respiratory assistive devices have had difficulty traveling on certain flights because carriers were concerned about possible electromagnetic interference with aircraft navigation and communication systems. Under the proposed rule, passengers would be allowed to use these devices on aircraft if they can be safely operated on board.

The proposed rule would require the airlines to comply with all applicable safety and security regulations when providing medical oxygen service, testing respiratory devices and permitting their use aboard aircraft.

Comments on the proposed rule, which was published in today’s Federal Register, are due in 60 days. The proposed rule and comments on the proposal may be obtained via the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov  docket number OST-2005-22298.
-END-

N.B. when searching the DOT docket remember to in enter only 22298 and not the entire docket number.[/b]



Last edited by sleepapnea_ed on Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:04 pm; edited 4 times in total
_________________
Executive Director
American Sleep Apnea Association
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW Ste. 203
Washington, DC 20012
202-293-3650

Ed, please remove the comma from the URL (http://dms.dot.gov,) as it is causing a "not found."

Thanks,
Amigo

Ed,

Please post this topic on several of the OSA forums so that more of the whole community of cpap users can offer their opinions to the DOT.

Thanks

If you are an air traveler and would like possibility of using your CPAP on the aircraft, please submit a comment to the Department of Transportation stating you support the rule change as respects the evaluation of CPAP for use on aircraft.

The proposed rule and comments on the proposal may be obtained via the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov  docket number OST-2005-22298.

N.B. when searching the DOT docket remember to in enter only 22298 and not the entire docket number.

The comment period closes on November 7th.


_________________
Executive Director
American Sleep Apnea Association
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW Ste. 203
Washington, DC 20012
202-293-3650

On behalf of our members and the thousands of the sleep apnea patients who travel in the United States and abroad, the American Sleep Apnea Association heartily supports the DOT rule OST-2005-22298 requiring US and foreign air carrier to test continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines in order to ensure they will not cause interference with aircraft navigation or communication systems.

Allowing sleep apnea patients to use their CPAP machines while on long-haul flights would benefit the patient by making certain they receive the treatment they need for restorative sleep and there would be the added benefit that they would not disturb other passengers on the aircraft with snoring.

Currently, there are a number of foreign air carriers that permit the use of CPAP machines onboard the aircraft.  Recently, several domestic carriers have allowed passengers to use their battery-powered devices onboard.  So there is evident that certain CPAP devices do not interfere with aircraft navigation or communication systems.

The greater challenge to traveling sleep apnea patients and the air carriers is accommodating the need to plug in certain CPAP devices.  Provisions will need to be made in aircraft seating charts to show where the electrical outlets are and to be certain the voltage will permit a machine to be used.

The American Sleep Apnea Association would also encourage the Department of Transportation to work with the Transportation Security Administration to revise the standard operating procedures concerning screening of CPAP devices.  As of June 2005 the TSA has revised its SOPs to require CPAP devices with opaque components required to be checked and not carried onto the aircraft.

This change in SOPs has been applied inconsistently and has resulted in damage to CPAP machines not appropriated packed as checked luggage.

We have recommended to the TSA they modify the SOP such that CPAP devices with opaque components be removed from their case and be swabbed in the same way a lap top computer or other electronic device.

The American Sleep Apnea Association is available to assist the Department of Transportation and the airlines with the implementation with the rule.


_________________
Executive Director
American Sleep Apnea Association
6856 Eastern Avenue, NW Ste. 203
Washington, DC 20012
202-293-3650

Excellent comments to the DOT, Ed.

We'll keep our fingers crossed that ALL of your "suggestions" are implemented in a timely manner.

Thanks again for keeping on top of these issues, it's greatly appreciated.

Amigo[/quote]