83 FR 53991 - Airline Reporting of Data on Mishandled Baggage, Wheelchairs, and Scooters

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 208 (October 26, 2018)

Page Range		53991-53992
FR Document		2018-23475

This document addresses the obligations of large U.S. airlines to report to the Department mishandled baggage, wheelchairs, and scooters data following the enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 208 (Friday, October 26, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53991-53992]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23475]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Chapter II


Airline Reporting of Data on Mishandled Baggage, Wheelchairs, and 
Scooters

AGENCY: Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation (Department).

ACTION: Notification of enforcement.

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SUMMARY: This document addresses the obligations of large U.S. airlines 
to report to the Department mishandled baggage, wheelchairs, and 
scooters data following the enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 
2018.

DATES: This enforcement notification is applicable on October 26, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Wood, Senior Attorney, Office of 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (C-70), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-
366-9342 (telephone), [email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 2, 2016, the Department 
published a final rule in the Federal Register titled ``Reporting of 
Data for Mishandled Baggage and Wheelchairs and Scooters Transported in 
Aircraft Cargo Compartments.'' 81 FR 76300. This November 2 final rule 
changed the methodology that airlines are required to use in reporting 
to the Department their mishandled baggage data, from the number of 
mishandled baggage reports (MBRs) filed with the airline and the number 
of domestic passenger enplanements to the number of mishandled bags and 
the number of enplaned bags.\1\ The rule also requires airlines to 
report separate statistics for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. On 
November 3, 2016, the Department published another final rule titled 
``Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections III,'' 81 FR 76826, that, 
among other things, lowered the reporting carrier threshold for 
mishandled baggage from at least 1 percent of domestic scheduled 
passenger revenues to at least 0.5 percent. The November 3 final rule 
further requires reporting carriers that market domestic scheduled 
codeshare flights to file separate mishandled baggage data for 
codeshare flights that carry only one U.S. carrier's code. In March 
2017, the Department provided that carriers would be required to comply 
with the changes to mishandled baggage reporting requirements made by 
these two final rules with respect to air transportation occurring on 
or after January 1, 2019. See 82 FR 14437 (March 21, 2017); 82 FR 14604 
(March 22, 2017).
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    \1\ Currently, airlines report the number of MBRs filed by 
passengers with the airline. One MBR might cover more than one bag 
because a single MBR could be submitted by a family--or even an 
individual--with multiple mishandled bags. Under the new 
methodology, airlines report the number of bags that were mishandled 
as opposed to the number of MBRs filed by passengers. Also, today, 
airlines report the number of passenger enplanements. Under the new 
methodology, U.S. airlines will report the number of checked bags 
enplaned (including bags checked at the gate and ``valet'' bags) 
rather than the number of passenger enplanements.
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    On October 5, 2018, the President signed the FAA Reauthorization 
Act of 2018 (FAA Act) into law. See Public Law 115-254. Section 441 of 
the FAA Act states that ``[t]he compliance date of the final rule, 
dated November 2, 2016, on the reporting of data for mishandled baggage 
and wheelchairs in aircraft cargo compartments (81 FR 76300) shall be 
effective not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.'' \2\
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    \2\ The FAA Act also includes another section related to 
mishandled baggage reporting. Section 410 of the FAA Act states that 
``[n]ot later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Transportation shall study and publicize for 
comment a cost-benefit analysis to air carriers and consumers of 
changing the baggage reporting requirements of section 234.6 of 
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, before implementation of such 
requirements . . .'' The Department must also report to Congress on 
the findings of the cost-benefit analysis. The Department does not 
view sections 441 and 410 as inconsistent with each other, because 
it interprets section 410 as applying only to prospective changes, 
and as not applying to the changes made by the final rules issued 
November 2, 2016 and November 3, 2016. In June 2018, the Department 
announced its initiation of a rulemaking, Reporting of Data for 
Mishandled Baggage and Wheelchairs and Scooters Transportation in 
Aircraft Cargo Compartments II (RIN #2105-AE77), ``to address 
substantial challenges in accurately reporting, under the mishandled 
baggage reporting final rules published in November 2016, data for 
bags handled by multiple airlines and bags that traveled on both 
reportable domestic segments and nonreportable international 
segments.'' See https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/report-on-significant-rulemakings. The Department will conduct a cost-
benefit analysis for proposed changes to the baggage reporting 
requirements of 14 CFR 234.6 and report to Congress as required by 
section 410 of the FAA Act.
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    By this notification, the Office of Aviation Enforcement and 
Proceedings (Enforcement Office) is providing guidance to affected U.S. 
carriers on compliance with mishandled baggage, wheelchair, and scooter 
reporting requirements following the enactment of the FAA Act. Section 
441 of the FAA Act provides that the compliance date for the November 
2, 2016 final rule shall be effective not later than 60 days after

[[Page 53992]]

enactment of the Act, which is December 4, 2018. Accordingly, airlines 
determined by the Department's Office of Airline Information (OAI) as 
accounting for at least 1 percent of domestic scheduled passenger 
revenues for calendar year 2018 \3\ must submit mishandled baggage data 
to the Department using the new mishandled baggage methodology and must 
separately report statistics for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters 
for domestic scheduled flights they operate beginning December 4, 2018 
and through December 31, 2018. See 81 FR 73000 (November 2, 2016). The 
airlines must submit this data to the Department no later than January 
15, 2019.\4\ The data would consist of: (1) Operating carrier code; (2) 
month and year of data; (3) number of mishandled bags; (4) number of 
bags enplaned; (5) number of mishandled wheelchairs and scooters; (6) 
number of wheelchairs and scooters enplaned; (7) certification that to 
the best of the signing official's knowledge and belief the data is 
true, correct, and complete; and (8) date of submission, name of 
airline representative, and signature.
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    \3\ For calendar year 2018, 12 airlines reached the reporting 
threshold of 906,261,000 in domestic scheduled passenger revenue 
(one percent of total domestic scheduled passenger revenue) and are 
required to report mishandled baggage data. These airlines are: 
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Envoy Air, 
ExpressJet Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue 
Airways, SkyWest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and 
United Airlines.
    \4\ As section 441 only changes the compliance date of the 
November 2 final rule, airlines are not required to submit data for 
any code-share operations, which is a requirement of the November 3, 
2016, final rule.
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    If a reporting carrier is unable to report accurate data on the 
total number of mishandled bags and enplaned bags for the entire 
reportable period beginning December 4, 2018, and ending December 31, 
2018, the Enforcement Office will exercise its enforcement discretion 
as appropriate.\5\ An airline should inform the Enforcement Office no 
later than January 3, 2019, if the airline is unable to provide 
accurate mishandled baggage data using the methodology set forth in the 
November 2, 2016 rule for the December 2018 reportable period. To the 
extent the Enforcement Office decides not to pursue action against an 
airline that does not report the required data because of reliability 
concerns, in the interest of providing air travel consumers with access 
to reliable mishandled baggage data, the Enforcement Office expects 
that the airline will accurately report mishandled baggage data to the 
Department using the prior mishandled bag reporting methodology (i.e., 
the total number of passengers enplaned and the total number of MBRs 
filed with the airline in the manner described in 14 CFR 234.6(a) and 
OAI Technical Reporting Directive #29A, for the flights it operates 
December 1 through 31, 2018). Even if an airline indicates an inability 
to report accurately the total number of mishandled bags and enplaned 
bags, the Enforcement Office will expect the airline to accurately 
report the total number of mishandled wheelchairs and scooters and 
total number of wheelchair and scooters enplaned. Because the 
Enforcement Office expects that airlines should be able to accurately 
report mishandled wheelchair and scooter data, the Enforcement Office 
requests a detailed explanation no later than January 3, 2019, from any 
airline asserting that it is not able to accurately report wheelchair 
and scooter data to the Department for flights beginning December 4, 
2018.
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    \5\ During the past year, the Enforcement Office has been 
working with the reporting carriers to ensure that they are able to 
report new mishandled baggage data for flights on or after January 
1, 2019. This notification is not intended to suggest an airline's 
delay in submitting the new mishandled baggage data for flights 
occurring on or after January 1, 2019, would lead the Enforcement 
Office to exercise its enforcement discretion.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2018.
Blane A. Workie,
Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings.
[FR Doc. 2018-23475 Filed 10-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 208 / Friday, October 26, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 53991

takeoff to or above FL 260, subject to the DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION mishandled baggage from at least 1
approval of and in accordance with the percent of domestic scheduled
conditions established by, the Office of the Secretary passenger revenues to at least 0.5
appropriate authorities of Iraq; or percent. The November 3 final rule
(2) Aircraft descending into the 14 CFR Chapter II further requires reporting carriers that
Kuwait FIR (OKAC) may operate at market domestic scheduled codeshare
Airline Reporting of Data on flights to file separate mishandled
altitudes below FL 260 in the Baghdad Mishandled Baggage, Wheelchairs,
FIR (ORBB) to the extent necessary to baggage data for codeshare flights that
and Scooters carry only one U.S. carrier’s code. In
permit descent for landing within the
Kuwait FIR (OKAC), subject to the AGENCY: Office of Aviation Enforcement March 2017, the Department provided
approval of and in accordance with the and Proceedings, Office of the Secretary, that carriers would be required to
conditions established by, the U.S. Department of Transportation comply with the changes to mishandled
appropriate authorities of Iraq; or (Department). baggage reporting requirements made by
(3) The flight operations in the ACTION: Notification of enforcement. these two final rules with respect to air
Baghdad FIR (ORBB) at altitudes below transportation occurring on or after
SUMMARY: This document addresses the January 1, 2019. See 82 FR 14437
FL 260 are conducted under a contract,
obligations of large U.S. airlines to (March 21, 2017); 82 FR 14604 (March
grant, or cooperative agreement with a report to the Department mishandled
department, agency, or instrumentality 22, 2017).
baggage, wheelchairs, and scooters data On October 5, 2018, the President
of the U.S. Government (or under a following the enactment of the FAA signed the FAA Reauthorization Act of
subcontract between the prime Reauthorization Act of 2018. 2018 (FAA Act) into law. See Public
contractor of the department, agency, or
DATES: This enforcement notification is Law 115–254. Section 441 of the FAA
instrumentality, and the person
applicable on October 26, 2018. Act states that ‘‘[t]he compliance date of
described in paragraph (a) of this
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John the final rule, dated November 2, 2016,
section), with the approval of the FAA,
Wood, Senior Attorney, Office of on the reporting of data for mishandled
or under an exemption issued by the
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings baggage and wheelchairs in aircraft
FAA. The FAA will consider requests
(C–70), U.S. Department of cargo compartments (81 FR 76300) shall
for approval or exemption in a timely
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey be effective not later than 60 days after
manner, with the order of preference
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, the date of enactment of this Act.’’ 2
being: First, for those operations in
202–366–9342 (telephone), john.wood@ By this notification, the Office of
support of U.S. Government-sponsored
dot.gov (email). Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings
activities; second, for those operations
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On (Enforcement Office) is providing
in support of government-sponsored
November 2, 2016, the Department guidance to affected U.S. carriers on
activities of a foreign country with the
published a final rule in the Federal compliance with mishandled baggage,
support of a U.S. Government
Register titled ‘‘Reporting of Data for wheelchair, and scooter reporting
department, agency, or instrumentality;
Mishandled Baggage and Wheelchairs requirements following the enactment of
and third, for all other operations.
and Scooters Transported in Aircraft the FAA Act. Section 441 of the FAA
(d) Emergency situations. In an Cargo Compartments.’’ 81 FR 76300. Act provides that the compliance date
emergency that requires immediate This November 2 final rule changed the for the November 2, 2016 final rule shall
decision and action for the safety of the methodology that airlines are required be effective not later than 60 days after
flight, the pilot in command of an to use in reporting to the Department
aircraft may deviate from this section to their mishandled baggage data, from the 2 The FAA Act also includes another section

the extent required by that emergency. number of mishandled baggage reports related to mishandled baggage reporting. Section
Except for U.S. air carriers and 410 of the FAA Act states that ‘‘[n]ot later than 6
(MBRs) filed with the airline and the months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
commercial operators that are subject to number of domestic passenger Secretary of Transportation shall study and
the requirements of part 119, 121, 125, enplanements to the number of publicize for comment a cost-benefit analysis to air
or 135 of this chapter, each person who mishandled bags and the number of carriers and consumers of changing the baggage
deviates from this section must, within reporting requirements of section 234.6 of title 14,
enplaned bags.1 The rule also requires Code of Federal Regulations, before implementation
10 days of the deviation, excluding airlines to report separate statistics for of such requirements . . .’’ The Department must
Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. also report to Congress on the findings of the cost-
holidays, submit to the responsible On November 3, 2016, the Department benefit analysis. The Department does not view
Flight Standards office a complete sections 441 and 410 as inconsistent with each
published another final rule titled other, because it interprets section 410 as applying
report of the operations of the aircraft ‘‘Enhancing Airline Passenger only to prospective changes, and as not applying to
involved in the deviation, including a Protections III,’’ 81 FR 76826, that, the changes made by the final rules issued
description of the deviation and the among other things, lowered the November 2, 2016 and November 3, 2016. In June
reasons for it. 2018, the Department announced its initiation of a
reporting carrier threshold for rulemaking, Reporting of Data for Mishandled
(e) Expiration. This SFAR will remain Baggage and Wheelchairs and Scooters
in effect until October 26, 2020. The 1 Currently, airlines report the number of MBRs Transportation in Aircraft Cargo Compartments II
FAA may amend, rescind, or extend this filed by passengers with the airline. One MBR (RIN #2105–AE77), ‘‘to address substantial
might cover more than one bag because a single challenges in accurately reporting, under the
SFAR, as necessary. MBR could be submitted by a family—or even an mishandled baggage reporting final rules published
Issued under the authority provided by 49 individual—with multiple mishandled bags. Under in November 2016, data for bags handled by
khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES

U.S.C. 106(f) and (g), 40101(d)(1), the new methodology, airlines report the number of multiple airlines and bags that traveled on both
40105(b)(1)(A), and 44701(a)(5), in bags that were mishandled as opposed to the reportable domestic segments and nonreportable
number of MBRs filed by passengers. Also, today, international segments.’’ See https://
Washington, DC, on October 18, 2018. airlines report the number of passenger www.transportation.gov/regulations/report-on-
Daniel K. Elwell, enplanements. Under the new methodology, U.S. significant-rulemakings. The Department will
Acting Administrator. airlines will report the number of checked bags conduct a cost-benefit analysis for proposed
enplaned (including bags checked at the gate and changes to the baggage reporting requirements of 14
[FR Doc. 2018–23398 Filed 10–25–18; 8:45 am] ‘‘valet’’ bags) rather than the number of passenger CFR 234.6 and report to Congress as required by
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P enplanements. section 410 of the FAA Act.

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Document Created: 2018-10-26 02:28:02
Document Modified: 2018-10-26 02:28:02

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Rules and Regulations
Action		Notification of enforcement.
Dates		This enforcement notification is applicable on October 26, 2018.
Contact		John Wood, Senior Attorney, Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (C-70), U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202- 366-9342 (telephone), [email protected] (email).
FR Citation		83 FR 53991

83 FR 53991 - Airline Reporting of Data on Mishandled Baggage, Wheelchairs, and Scooters

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONOffice of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 208 (October 26, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary