With airplane bathrooms inaccessible to most people with disabilities, those who use wheelchairs have a necessary pre-flight routine: Dehydrate and hope for the best.

Passengers in wheelchairs can’t use most airplane washrooms. That could change::With airplane bathrooms inaccessible to most people with disabilities, those who use wheelchairs have a necessary pre-flight routine: Dehydrate and hope for the best.

  • @fubo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    14•1 year ago

    This specific article text appears to have originated on a “custom health content provider” called HealthDay.

    Original: https://consumer.healthday.com/passengers-in-wheelchairs-can-t-use-most-airplane-washrooms-that-could-change-2665762945.html

    Language curiosity: The article uses the term “washroom”. US airlines use “lavatory”, as does the new regulation (see below). General US usage is “bathroom”, even without a bath; most other Englishes would say “toilet” or “WC”. This article may be AI-generated, but the AI is Canadian.

    That said, here’s an NDRN statement from last year on the proposed rulemaking and here’s NPR reporting on it … and here is the actual rule as published in the Federal Register.

    In summary:

    • The rules apply to new aircraft, and to aircraft where the lavatory is replaced.
    • Aircraft have to be equipped with onboard wheelchairs.
    • Required lavatory features include grab bars, accessible faucets, and room for a wheelchair user to transfer themselves from an onboard wheelchair to the toilet seat.
    • Flight attendants need to be trained in helping onboard wheelchair users.
    • They have to have signs saying the lavatories are accessible.
    • Airlines have to figure out how to handle medical waste (e.g. used needles) safely.