TOPICS
TOPICS
Lawmaker seeks health, safety standards for flight delays
With lawmakers arguing Friday about the need for legislation to create an airline passengers' bill of rights, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member John Mica, R-Fla., asked the Federal Aviation Administration to develop procedures for the health and safety of passengers during lengthy flight delays.
In a letter Thursday to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Mica asked the FAA "to work with airports and air carriers to develop contingency plans appropriate for each airline and airport to care for airline passengers in the event that health and safety hazards arise as a result of extremely long delays."
Congress has been spurred to act in the aftermath of a Valentine's Day incident in which passengers were kept on JetBlue flights for at least nine hours at New York's JFK Airport because of inclement weather. A similar incident involving American Airlines occurred in December. JetBlue responded by drafting a passenger bill of rights that has received mixed reviews.
Lawmakers disagree over whether legislation is necessary. Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., have introduced a bill allowing passengers to leave a plane if it has been grounded at least three hours and guarantees that food, clean water and adequate bathroom facilities are provided. Exceptions would be made if a pilot believes the flight will leave within 30 minutes after the three hours have elapsed or believes deplaning would pose a safety risk to passengers. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, have introduced similar legislation.
While FAA and the airlines reached a voluntary agreement in 1999, "we know by the latest rash of problems that it's not working," Thompson said Friday.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello, D-Ill., said the agreement is not working because Congress failed to conduct oversight hearings to check on the airlines' progress.
"I think one of the reasons it didn't work is because Congress didn't do its job," Costello said. He promised that his subcommittee, which held a hearing today on aviation consumer issues, "will hold additional hearings to monitor their progress and if they don't act we will."
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said he would oppose Thompson's bill because lawmakers need to consider unintended consequences with allowing passengers to deplane during an airport traffic jam.
"It's easy to say, but what has to be done behind the scenes to accomplish that?" he asked.
Meeks, who represents workers at JFK, also said he wanted to ensure that legislation does not increase airline costs to a level that results in layoffs.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., prefers that airlines address the problem through their contracts of carriage with passengers instead of through legislation. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., though, said airlines should be required to post contact information on tickets for passengers to register complaints to the Transportation Department.
"Nobody knows DOT's there, or who to complain to," he said.
COMMENTS
- What a crock "if the pilot believes the plane will take off within 30 minutes of the three hours" - would anyone out there trust a pilot who has already held them hostage for three hours? I wouldn't unless there is a clause that pays the passengers damages for every minute past that three hours. The threat of losing money is the only thing that will make the airlines treat the passengers like people. GovExec.com reader Posted April 23, 2007 6:01 AM
- "It's like trying to pour ten gallons of water into a five gallon bucket"! I worked at a major airport for several years, and have, IMO a fairly good understanding of airport operations. Deregulation, the spinelessness of the FAA, slezy business practices all contribute to this mess. But the only real issue should be the safety and comfort of the passengers, they're the reason that those airline employees have their jobs! As I've posted before, involuntary detention past three hours is unacceptable. Simply roll out a couple of 'people movers', those large buses on stilts, and disembark the passengers. Re longer delays, create a database with local hotels to accomodate out-of-towners, and tell the locals to go home. Airports don't like to close, 'cause it looks bad, so they stay open, and, like the Venus Fly Trap entice everyone to show up. Then, the flights are cancelled, and people are forced to sleep on dirty floors. Sounds like a poor, Third World airport, doesn't it? No consideration is currently given to the (pax)or passengers. Let Congress strike the promotion of air travel from the FAA's charter, and crack down on this legal abuse. GovExec.com reader Posted April 21, 2007 9:31 AM
