U.S. Moves to Improve Airplane Bathrooms for People With Disabilities

Politics|U.S. Moves to Improve Airplane Bathrooms for People With Disabilities

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/us/politics/airplane-bathrooms-disabilities-accessibility.html

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U.S. Moves to Improve Airplane Bathrooms for People With Disabilities

New regulations announced by the Transportation Department will mandate that more new planes have accessible lavatories, though the requirement will not take effect for years.

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Under the regulations announced on Wednesday, new single-aisle planes with at least 125 seats will eventually be required to have at least one accessible lavatory.Credit…Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

By Mark Walker

Reporting from Washington

July 26, 2023

The Transportation Department announced on Wednesday that it had finalized new regulations to require more commercial aircraft to have accessible bathrooms, a long-awaited step to address complaints from disabled travelers about the difficulties of flying.

Under the regulations, new single-aisle planes with at least 125 seats will eventually be required to have at least one lavatory large enough for a disabled passenger and an attendant to enter and move around in. Twin-aisle planes are already required to have an accessible lavatory.

“Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a [...]