ASTA has filed comments with the Department Transportation (DOT) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports,” which addresses the issue of making websites accessible for people with disabilities.

In its filing, ASTA supports the proposal that “small business” travel agencies, as defined by the Small Business Administration, be exempted from the technical requirements of the rule. ASTA noted that without the exemption, it “will be very costly and likely drive many travel agencies out of the Internet environment altogether,” which would ultimately not serve the interest of consumers. ASTA supports the policy tradeoff proposed by DOT “allowing small business agencies to avoid the cost and disruption of website rewrites but requiring the offline provision” of providing any online-only offers to disabled travelers in the offline environment.

ASTA’s also noted in its filing that the industry should be subjected to a single compliance regime. ASTA referenced in its filing a similar rule-making from the Department of Justice (DOJ), and noted that while ASTA fully supports both the DOJ and DOT’s goal of “bringing websites to a state of high accessibility by disabled persons as soon as feasible,” one of the two agencies should to take the lead and put forth a single, coordinated proposal for the travel industry’s review.

ASTA’s comments went on to note that any compliance with federally imposed standards is not a job that should be turned over to third-party contractors, such as the airlines or the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), as DOT suggests. Interjecting the airlines into the path between the government and the agencies with regards to compliance with the accessibility rules will add another layer of complexity, cost and conflict. Moreover, in today’s marketplace there are many travel agencies that do not sell airline tickets, and are therefore outside the jurisdiction of the airlines and ARC, as well as the DOT.

The mission of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable and growing and a rewarding field in which to work, invest and do business.