Court tosses bill of rights for airline passengers
CHICAGO - A federal appeals court threw out New York's airline Passenger Bill of Rights, a law guaranteeing delayed travelers fresh air and working toilets, saying that to let it stand would encourage different laws in every state.
The US Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled yesterday that the 2007 law, which applies when flights have been delayed on the ground for more than three hours, is preempted by a 1978 US statute that relaxed federal regulation of the airline industry.
"The court's decision is a disappointment to anyone who has suffered at the hands of airlines that care more about profits than their customers," said New York Assemblyman Michael Gianaris of Queens, a Democrat and a chief sponsor of the law.
The law was passed after a series of incidents in 2006 and 2007 when long delays at New York City's airports resulted in travelers going without food or water while planes waited on the tarmac, according to the ruling.
A lower court judge in New York upheld the law in November. The Air Transport Association, a trade group for airlines including AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, appealed.
If the New York law was allowed to stand, the appeals court wrote, "another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel."
The trade group hailed the ruling as a vindication of its position. "A patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests," the group said.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court agreed, saying the 1978 law regulates air carrier service, and that a state law "requiring airlines to provide food, water, electricity, and restrooms to passengers during lengthy ground delays does relate to the service of an air carrier," and is thus barred.
New York Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican cosponsor of the bill, said he is "stunned by the audacity of the airline industry which fought so hard to deny the flying public simple basic rights like being able to use a restroom or get a drink of water while stranded on a delayed plane."
The US House of Representatives last year passed legislation containing provisions similar to those in the New York law. Additionally, legislation addressing the issue was proposed last year in the US Senate.
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