Most people try to avoid going into the CLOSETS that airlines refer to as LAVATORIES for many reasons. But if the cramped space is YOUR biggest problem, that could change.
The Department of Transportation has just announced a new rule that will REQUIRE airlines to make restrooms large enough for TWO people. No . . . it isn’t to make joining the Mile High Club easier . . . and it definitely isn’t meant to be fancy, so don’t expect a double vanity.
The purpose is to make at least one restroom large enough for passengers with disabilities AND their attendants to enter and maneuver within the space.
Larger aircraft with two aisles already have special wheelchair-accessible restrooms . . . that’s been required since 1990. This will make it so that smaller planes with one aisle also have them.
This is great news for wheelchair-bound travelers, who have been forced to choose between dehydrating themselves before boarding a plane or avoiding air travel altogether, if only smaller planes fly a particular route.
But don’t get TOO excited.
Airlines have 10 YEARS to comply, which would be 2033. And it’s unclear if they’ll be forced to retrofit their current fleet . . . for now, it sounds like it would mainly apply to planes ORDERED 10 years from now.
(Like it or not, this is probably the fastest timeline they could get to re-design, and re-engineer aircraft . . . even though I’m sure they could find a way to REDUCE space in, let’s say, 10 MINUTES.)
Also, not ALL restrooms will be made bigger . . . they’re just required to have ONE. And they’ll probably want that larger restroom kept available for those who need it as much as possible.
