On March 1, the following amendments to the Federal Aviation Regulations came into force:
Additional requirements have been established for carriers to inform passengers. Thus, it is stipulated that passengers must be provided with the following information when booking tickets:
- on the terms of the passenger air carriage agreement, the change of which is not permitted by the terms of application of the tariff;
- on the procedure for transporting children under two years of age without providing them with individual seats;
- on the procedure for passengers travelling with a child (children) under 12 years of age to select an accompanying passenger who must be provided with passenger seats adjacent to this child (these children);
- on the procedure for a passenger to change the air carriage agreement, including the procedure for a passenger to refuse air carriage on one of the sections of the air carriage route;
- on the procedure for a passenger to notify the carrier of a refusal to carry due to illness of the passenger himself/herself or a member of his/her family or a close relative travelling with him/her on an aircraft, or the death of a member of his/her family or a close relative;
- on the amount of the fee for cancellation of a reservation, calculation of amounts due for refund, and process the refund of amounts, established in accordance with the Procedure for Collecting Fees.
The duration of a flight delay that is grounds for a passenger‘s forced refusal of carriage or a forced change of the carriage agreement by the passenger (in which case no additional payment is charged) has been specified. A flight delay of more than 30 minutes is now considered a delay.
It has been clarified that the flight departure time is calculated from the time the aircraft begins towing or the aircraft begins to move from its parking place under its own power.
The provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations regarding the provision of adjacent passenger seats on board an aircraft to a child (children) under 12 years of age and the passenger accompanying them have been clarified. It has been determined which passenger seats are considered adjacent.
The provision establishing that the requirements for medical documents to be provided by a passenger to an air carrier to confirm the illness of the passenger himself/herself, a member of his/her family, or a close relative travelling with him/her on an aircraft, are determined by the rules of the carrier has been removed.
The provisions of the Federal Aviation Regulations concerning the scope of services provided by the carrier to passengers in the event of a disruption in transportation due to the fault of the carrier, in the event of a flight delay, flight cancellation, and the procedure for their provision have been specified.
The list of items that can be carried as carry-on baggage in excess of the allowance and without an additional fee has been adjusted.
As carry-on baggage in excess of the norm established by the carrier in accordance with Item 133 of the Rules, and without charging an additional fee, the passenger has the right to carry the following items:
1) a backpack with items placed in it, the weight and dimensions of which are established by the carrier's rules, or a handbag with items placed in it, or a briefcase with items placed in it, having dimensions that allow it to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin on the overhead compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front;
2) a bouquet of flowers of dimensions that allow it to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin on the overhead compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front;
3) outerwear used by the passenger;
4) baby food for the child during the flight;
5) suit in a folding garment bag;
6) a device for carrying a child, including a baby cradle, restraint systems (devices) for children under two years of age, a baby pushchair, the dimensions of which are established by the carrier's rules and allow them to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin on the overhead compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front;
7) medicinal products for human use, dietary food products in the quantity required for the duration of the flight;
8) crutches, a folding wheelchair, a walking stick, a tactile cane, a folding walker, including a folding rollator walker, upper and lower limb prostheses in packaging, used to compensate for or eliminate persistent limitations in the activities of a disabled passenger or other person with limited mobility and having dimensions that allow them to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin on the overhead compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front;
9) agents intended for the care of upper and lower limb prostheses, in packaging, used to compensate for or eliminate persistent limitations in the life activities of disabled passengers and other persons with limited life activities and having dimensions that allow them to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin on the baggage compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front;
10) goods purchased in duty-free shops at the airport, packed in a sealed plastic bag, the weight and dimensions of which are established by the carrier's regulations and allow it to be safely placed in the aircraft cabin in the overhead compartment or under the seat of the passenger seat in front.