Thanks to past advocacy by the SMA community, aviation legislation approved in the U.S. House of Representatives and being considered in the U.S. Senate includes several provisions that will improve air travel for passengers with SMA and other disabilities, including individuals who fly in power wheelchairs. 

Among the most important disability-related provisions are:

• Improving training for personnel responsible for assisting passengers who travel with wheelchairs, including the handling and stowage of wheelchairs in the cargo hold,
• Studying the technical and economic feasibility of accommodating passengers in wheelchairs in the main cabin,
• Updating aircraft accessibility standards,
• Publishing cargo hold dimensions, and
• Collecting additional data on disability complaints, such as the nature and resolution of wheelchair damage issues.

While we continue to advocate long-term for the SMA community's top air travel priority-- allowing passengers to use their wheelchairs as their in-cabin seat -- we need to ensure that these meaningful disability-related provisions are retained in the final bill (known as the FAA reauthorization bill). To learn more about the SMA community's air travel experiences, check out Cure SMA's Good, Bad, and Ugly Air Travel Report. 

Urge Congress to immediately approve the FAA reauthorization bill that includes disability provisions that will make air travel more accessible for people with SMA and other disabilities. 

ACT NOW!

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