Airline Oxygen Issue Moves Forward

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Aug 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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A strongly-worded letter from key members of Congress urging the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue final regulations governing the use of portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) on commercial airlines is having its intended effect.

The AARC has just learned DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters has responded, saying the regulations are being finalized now and should be ready by the end of the year. Currently, the federal government gives the airlines the option to permit approved POCs on board. The proposed regulations would, if enacted, require the airlines to do so.

"I fully appreciate your concern about the difficulties encountered in air travel by users of medical oxygen," writes Secretary Peters. "I am committed to providing individuals dependent on medical oxygen greater access to air travel, consistent with Federal safety and security requirements."

The letter went out from Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), and Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-FL), all key members of the Congressional COPD Caucus.

"The letter from the members of Congress to the secretary was intended to put the department on notice that Congress is becoming inpatient with the delay in issuing a final rule," says AARC Director of Government Affairs Cheryl West, who notes the proposed regulations were first issued in the fall of 2005. Home oxygen users and the legislators who support them feel strongly the final action is long overdue.

You can learn much more about the airline oxygen issue on the Airline Oxygen Council of America (AOCA) web site. The AARC is a key partner in the AOCA.

http://www.aarc.org