Posted on: Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Suit by disabled travelers dismissed

By Catherine Wilson
Associated Press

MIAMI — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by disabled fliers seeking better access to 10 airlines, ruling that $3.2 billion in bailout money paid to the carriers after the 2001 terrorist attacks did not subject them to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Disabled passengers are not protected by the 2001 federal disabilities law, but the passengers maintained that airlines' acceptance of federal money after the attacks expanded the scope of earlier laws to the carriers.

U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages disagreed June 8, ruling the money accepted by the airlines was intended to compensate carriers for losses after jets were grounded by federal order.

The judge drew a distinction between compensation under the 2001 law and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which prohibited discrimination by those receiving financial assistance from federal programs.

"Obviously the clients are very gratified with the dismissals. We think the judge's reading of the law was correct," attorney Robert Charrow, who represented the airlines, said yesterday.

Attorney Barbara Junge, who sued on behalf of the passengers, said, "We're disappointed, and we're reviewing it to determine whether we'll be filing an appeal."

The suit, filed in February, claimed disabled air travelers are routinely subjected to harassment and inconvenience.

Passengers offered a long list of complaints about wheelchair users being abandoned, arm braces being checked as baggage, damaged wheelchairs, inaccessible lavatories and the rejection of service animals and carryon bags.

The airlines named in the lawsuit were Alaska, America West, American, Continental, Delta, Mesa, Northwest, Trans States, United and US Airways.