in effect
This is a notification of enforcement discretion from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), published June 10, 2025 (90 FR 24319). It is not a new rule; it is DOT’s formal notice that it will hold off on enforcing certain airline requirements for a set period. Specifically, it delays enforcement of the December 17, 2024 final rule known as the “Wheelchair Rule.”
DOT says it will not take enforcement action against airlines before August 1, 2025 for failing to meet the new or revised requirements added by the Wheelchair Rule. This extends an earlier pause, which had held enforcement off until March 20, 2025 (announced at 90 FR 9953). The pause applies only to the new or changed obligations created by the Wheelchair Rule (such as staff training, help boarding and leaving aircraft and moving through terminals, and handling of mishandled wheelchairs and scooters under 14 CFR part 382); it does not cover conduct that was already a violation before the Wheelchair Rule existed. DOT states the delay is to give presidentially appointed or designated officials more time to review the rule for consistency with the law (including the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024) and Administration policies, and to consider issues raised by a pending lawsuit, Airlines for America, et al. v. Department of Transportation (5th Cir.). The underlying rule’s own compliance dates still range from January 16, 2025 through June 17, 2026 for training requirements.
Airlines and other regulated entities covered by 14 CFR part 382 are the direct subjects; during this window they will not face DOT enforcement for the Wheelchair Rule’s newly added requirements. Air travelers with disabilities who use wheelchairs or scooters are affected because the added protections will not be enforced by DOT until at least August 1, 2025, though existing pre-Wheelchair-Rule obligations remain enforceable.