Today, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) published a notice seeking to reinstate a previously approved information collection request under its enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Interested parties are invited to provide comment to DOT through Monday, March 25, 2024.
BACKGROUND
Since 2005, federal regulations have required air carriers to file reports with DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division on the loss, injury, or death of animals during air transport.
Originally, the rule required only the largest U.S. air carriers (i.e., those that accounted for at least 1 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue) to report. However, in 2014, the rule was expanded to apply to U.S. air carriers that operate scheduled service with at least one aircraft with a design capacity of more than 60 seats. Additionally, the 2014 change (1) expanded the definition of “animal” to include all cats and dogs transported by covered carriers, regardless of whether the animal was shipped as a pet or as part of a commercial shipment; (2) required covered carriers to filed a year-end report each December, which must include both (3) the total number of animals that were lost, injured, or died during air transport in the calendar year, and (4) the total number of animals transported in a calendar year.
Should the information collection request be formally renewed, DOT projects the approximately 30 covered carriers will spend 15 hours per year completing required year-end reports, and up to 360 hours per year completing monthly reporting requirements.
The information collection request that DOT is seeking to renew had been renewed in 2015 and 2018.
AKC & TRAVELING WITH DOGS
For many years, the American Kennel Club (AKC) has championed safe air travel for dogs. Resources include expert advice columns, materials to support the use of service dogs, systems to streamline the travel process for service dog users and air carriers, and legislative and regulatory advocacy to ensure safe air travel for all.
ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENTS TO DOT
DOT is seeking comments from the public on any aspect of this information collection, including:
- Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for DOT’s performance,
- Whether the estimated reporting burden on covered carriers is accurate,
- Ways for DOT to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collection, and
- Ways the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected information.
Interested parties may file comments identified by docket number DOT-OST-2010-0211 by any of the following methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
- Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, D.C. 20590.
- Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Room W12-140, Washington, D.C. 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal Holidays.
- Fax: 202-493-2251.
NOTE: You must include the agency name and docket number DOT-OST-2010- 0211 at the beginning of your comment. All comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT…
Vinh Q. Nguyen
Office of the General Counsel
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: (202) 366-9342
Fax: (202) 366-7152
Email: vinh.nguyen@dot.gov
AKC Government Relations
Phone: (919) 816-3720
Email: doglaw@akc.org