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Advocates for Service Animal Partners continues its dynamic advocacy efforts to remove the barriers service animal handlers face in our daily lives. On Friday, February 20, four members of ASAP’s board of directors participated in an advocacy meeting with officials of the United States Department of Transportation. The focus of this meeting was to receive input from advocates concerning the disability community’s air travel experiences. We were honored to have present at this meeting the General Counsel of the Department of Transportation, Gregory Zerzan. He and his team were very interested in the topics advocates raised. In particular, ASAP agreed there is an inconsistency with how the DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Forms were being
used by airlines and third-party contractors. Following the meeting, Mr. Zerzan asked me to share more details so he could direct his staff to investigate them. I followed up with Mr. Zerzan via email on February 23.
True to his word, I received an email on February 24 from Blane Workie,
Assistant General Counsel for the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection seeking more information about the issues we raised. In this message Ms. Workie states, “My office is committed to resolving disparities in how service animal handlers are treated and I look forward to our continued collaboration as we work through these initiatives together.”
Advocates for Service Animal Partners is gathering information to help the
Department of Transportation investigate these concerns and resolve them for us. If you have a story to tell about your experience, we need to hear from you.
THE ISSUE: Inconsistent Use of DOT Service Animal Forms and Procedures, In an effort to curb the abuse of service animal policies and create more consistent procedures, the Department of Transportation created an official Service Animal Air Transportation Form. Airlines may copy this form on its own letterhead, but the form must be used in its entirety and may not be altered by additions or deletions. Many service animal handlers have reported inconsistent use of these forms, third-party screening services making overly intrusive inquiries, application denials for legitimate service animals, and screening procedures violating the Air Carrier Access Act.
We need to hear from you! If you have faced challenges with air travel as the
result of these forms, a third-party screening company, or airline personnel otherwise interfering with your air travel, please let us know.
Be sure to include the date and time of your trip, the name of the airline, the airport where the incident occurred, any companions or others who witnessed the incident, and how it concluded. If your concern involves the inconsistent use of the DOT form, please include the form you completed, if you have it. If your concern is about a third party, include the name of the company and its representative, if known, along with any correspondence you may have. Be sure to include your name and contact information should we need to get in touch with you. You can send an email with the details of your experience to
Advoc...@gmail.com
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