Resolution Not Yet Reached on US DOT ACCESS Committee Recommendations for Accessible In-Flight Entertainment
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APEX Insight: Unable to come to a full resolution in its final meeting, the US Department of Transportation’s ACCESS Advisory Regulatory Committee will reconvene on Thursday to continue the discussion.
The final of six United States Department of Transportation’s ACCESS Advisory Regulatory Committee plenary sessions was held in Washington, DC, last week with the intention of advancing toward final recommendations for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the regulation of closed captions and descriptive audio for in-flight entertainment. By the end of the two-day session, the committee did not reach a full resolution, so an additional meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, October 20.
An update will be provided by APEX Media shortly following the meeting, and by an APEX representative during Education Day at the upcoming APEX EXPO in Singapore.
The Negotiated Rulemaking process, which includes representatives from advocacy organizations on behalf of airline passengers with disabilities including visual and auditory impairments as well as industry representatives, was initiated by the DOT to fully assess stakeholder issues and inform the development of its regulations. The APEX Technical Committee, led by Michael Childers, has played a crucial role in presenting information, including identifying financial and technical challenges related to delivering accessible media, which has helped to frame solution options under consideration by the DOT.
For more information, read our update from the fifth plenary session here.