SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

ACPAC was initially established by the Department as a Federal advisory committee as mandated by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The statutory termination date for the Committee has been extended several times, most recently by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (2024 Act) to the current termination date of September 30, 2028. ACPAC's mandate is to evaluate current DOT aviation consumer protection programs and provide recommendations to the Secretary for improving them, as well as recommending any additional consumer protection that may be needed.

II. Agenda

Three topics will be discussed during the meeting to be held on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026: (1) airlines' one-page summary of consumer rights; (2) airline customer service dashboards (Delay and Cancellation Dashboard, Family Seating Dashboard, and Seat Size Dashboard); and (3) know-your-rights posters.

Regarding the first topic, section 429 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 directs the Department to require U.S. and foreign air carriers to submit to the Department a one-page document that describes the rights of passengers in air transportation regarding compensation for flight delays, diversions, cancellations, mishandled baggage, overbooking, and boarding denials, and further directs covered carriers to post the document prominently on their websites. The Department published its Final Rule implementing Section 429 of the 2018 Act on April 24, 2026. During this upcoming meeting of the ACPAC, the Department will provide an overview of this statutory requirement and the corresponding Final Rule.^[1] Following an overview by the Department of the applicable statute and rule, ACPAC will gather information from interested stakeholders, including consumer advocates and industry, to assess whether to make recommendations on best practices regarding the manner of complying with these requirements.

Regarding the second topic, section 506 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 requires the Department to establish, maintain, and make publicly available three dashboards for purposes of keeping aviation consumers informed of policies and services provided by large U.S. air carriers: (1) a delay and cancellation dashboard that displays information regarding the services and compensation provided to mitigate passenger inconvenience caused by a delay or cancellation within the control of the carrier; (2) a family seating dashboard that displays information regarding which carriers guarantee fee-free adjacent seating to an adult ( printed page 55979) accompanying a child; and (3) a seat size dashboard that displays information regarding economy class seat dimensions, including pitch, width, and length for the aircraft models and configurations most commonly flown by each carrier. The first two dashboards currently exist and are available on the Department's website, while the last dashboard (seat size) has not yet been created. Following an overview by the Department of the applicable statute, ACPAC will gather input from interested stakeholders, including consumer advocates, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers, to assess whether to recommend modifications to existing dashboards and implementation strategies for the seat size dashboard.

Regarding the third topic, section 504 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 requires each large hub airport, medium hub airport, and small hub airport with scheduled passenger service to display posters prominently that clearly and concisely outline the rights of airline passengers under Federal law with respect to, at a minimum, (1) flight delays and cancellations; (2) refunds; (3) bumping of passengers from flights and the oversale of flights; and (4) lost, delayed, or damaged baggage. The statute requires that the posters be displayed in conspicuous locations throughout the airport, including ticket counters, security checkpoints, and boarding gates. Following an overview by the Department of the applicable statute, ACPAC will gather input from interested stakeholders, including consumer advocates, airports, and airlines, to assess whether to make recommendations on best practices for complying with the statute, which could include the specific placement of such posters and the layout of their content.

The September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 meeting will focus on topic presentations by the Department and all involved stakeholders. ACPAC plans to reconvene at a later date to deliberate and decide on formal recommendations, if any, to be made to the Department on these three matters.

III. Public Participation

The meetings will be open to the public. Attendees may register for the meeting at the web address set forth in the ADDRESSES section. The Department is committed to providing equal access to these meetings for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, such as a sign language interpreter or other ancillary aids, please contact the email address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

At the discretion of the Chair or Designated Federal Officer, after completion of the planned agenda, individual members of the public may provide verbal comments, time permitting. Any verbal comments presented must be limited to the objectives of the Committee and will be limited to three (3) minutes per person. Individual members of the public who wish to present verbal comments must notify the Department via email at ACPAC@dot.gov that they wish to present verbal comments and submit a written copy of their prepared remarks for inclusion in the meeting record no later than Monday, September 21, 2026. In addition, members of the public may submit written comments for the Committee's consideration at any time by filing them in the ACPAC public docket (DOT-OST-2018-0190).

IV. Viewing Documents

You may view documents mentioned in this notice at www.regulations.gov. After entering the docket number (DOT-OST-2018-0190), click the link to “Open Docket Folder” and choose the document to review.

91 FR 55978