While an airline passenger bill of rights may not top the agenda in the United States Congress, New York State legislators have passed one.
The measure is moderate, limited in its scope by strictures as to how far a state can go in influencing interstate commerce. It calls for all airlines serving New York airports to provide passengers with food, water, fresh air, power, and working restrooms on any aircraft that has left the gate and is on the tarmac for more than three hours.
Although federal law restricts what individual states can do when it comes to regulating air travel (the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution), federal courts have ruled that states can legitimately address the issue of “amenities” for passengers. Air, food, and water are “amenities”.
New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) was the epicenter of a skyquake that triggered moves for a far more encompassing federal passenger bill of rights. On Valentines Day (February 14) passengers on flights – notably discount airline JetBlue’s flights – were stranded for hours on end out on taxiways. After that, JetBlue initiated its own passenger bill of rights.
Backers of a broad federal initiative would require – among other things – that all airlines compensate passengers and get them off planes after a certain period.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
