Originally Posted by
Yaatri
Yes, the rule is final. But what I meant is that the iimplimentation is in flux as the airlines have been given guidance until the "sticker" becomes a common practice.
... So 2 is unlikley to take place unless the unit is malfunctioning.
According to the rule, if the first event occurs, the airline cannot deny the passenger.
I understand your point, here's a clearer statement, from
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules...20382-2008.pdf
This rule requires U.S. carriers to permit individuals to use electronic respiratory assistive devices in the passenger cabin so long as (1)the devices have been tested and (2)labeled by their manufacturer(s) as meeting the applicable FAA requirements for medical portable electronic devices as described in FAA Advisory Circular No. 91.21-1B...
Because this final rule shifts the responsibility for testing the electronic respiratory assistive devices from the carriers to the manufacturers of such devices and requires carriers to permit passengers to use these devices aboard aircraft only if appropriately labeled, we do not see a need for carriers or any other entity to produce a central list of approved or disapproved devices. A passenger can simply look to see if the label on his/her electronic respiratory assistive device indicates that the device has been approved for air travel (i.e., no restriction on the device’s use during any phase of travel).
emphasis and enumeration mine.
Yes, there is some flux around how far to take the labeling requirement, as noted in document cited
supra:
The FAA is considering whether to issue an NPRM in which the agency would propose to require manufacturers that want to market their ventilators, respirators, CPAP machines, and FAA-approved POCs for passenger use on aircraft to test those devices against FAA-prescribed performance standards and affix a label to each device stating that it meets the applicable standards prescribed in the federal aviation regulations. If the FAA decides to issue such an NPRM, the NPRM would clarify that those manufacturers that do not intend to market their devices for use on aircraft would be under no obligation to conduct any testing and would not be permitted to affix a label indicating FAA approval. The manufacturers that want to market such devices for use on aircraft but whose devices fail to meet the performance standards would also not be permitted to affix a label indicating FAA approval. Moreover, the FAA will consider whether to include other proposals in that NPRM, including specifying how a carrier would "verify" whether the aforementioned electronic respiratory assistive devices meet FAA performance standards.
That debate is about whether to mandate testing, but separate from that debate is the present rule that with a manufacturer label, which by definition means that all other conditions are satisfied, a carrier
must permit the use of the CPAP.
The label is the pass-card to empowerment.