Hundreds of millions of passengers expect airlines to get them to their destination smoothly. Sometimes, these travel plans can go awry. This testimony draws on our airline consumer protection work since 2017. Airlines’ performance generally improved from 2008 through 2017. Transportation Department data show a decline in cases of denied boardings—due to overbooked flights, for example—and...

The Federal Aviation Administration requires aircraft be repaired and approved for flight only by mechanics who are “certificated” by the FAA. FAA oversees the certification process of these mechanics and of repairmen who fix aircraft parts. Some stakeholders are concerned that retirements and attrition could reduce the number of certificated workers needed to meet the growing demand for air t...

Not having a wheelchair-accessible restroom on a plane can make flying difficult for people with reduced mobility. For decades the Department of Transportation has required wheelchair-accessible restrooms on planes with two aisles, but not on those with one. Restrooms on single-aisle planes can be built to accommodate onboard wheelchairs, but many carriers don’t opt for that. Though DOT receive...

Recent high-profile events have led some to question whether airlines treat all passengers equally, despite federal laws prohibiting discrimination. In 2017, one organization issued a travel advisory (lifted in 2018) against an airline, citing "disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions" for African-American passengers. Airlines aren’t required to provide non-discrimination training. Bu...

GAO found that all 12 air carriers selected for review have training programs that address disability-related training requirements, with some variations in the specific content and format. Each air carrier demonstrated that it has in place initial and recurrent training for its employees, including its contractors, who interface with passengers with disabilities. All 12 air carriers also demonstr...

GAO identified four methods the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, uses to assure that recipients of federal transit funding comply with civil rights requirements: 1) requiring recipients to self-certify that they assure compliance with applicable civil rights requirements; 2) issuing guidance to inform recipients of their responsibilities; 3) admin...

Little is known about the extent of transit agencies' compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit service requirements. FTA does receive some assurance that agencies are complying with federal statutes and regulations, including ADA paratransit requirements, because transit agencies that receive FTA funding are required to self-certify and assure that they are complying w...

Minority- or female-owned, minority-owned, and female-owned firms represented 15 percent, 6 percent and 10 percent, respectively, of firms in the U.S. pipeline industry in 2007. In terms of market share, minority- or female-owned firms are estimated to have accounted for a total of 13 percent of industry receipts, with minority-owned firms having accounted for 3 percent and female-owned firms havi...

In examining the history of the Kachemak Bay ferry project, GAO found that the Seldovia Village Tribe’s federally funded ferry differs significantly from its original proposal. In 2002, the tribe proposed a vehicle and passenger ferry with year-round service between Homer, Alaska, on the north shore of Kachemak Bay and multiple southern ports, including the city of Seldovia. Federal funding was...

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) oversees about $5.5 billion in federal funds each year to transit agencies serving urban areas (grantee), in part through its triennial review program, which evaluates grantee adherence to federal requirements at least once every 3 years. GAO recommended in a 1998 oversight report that FTA improve the program. The subcommittee requested that GAO review this...