Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Struck Down

By James Bernstein, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Mar. 25–A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down a New York State law requiring airlines to provide food, water, working toilet facilities and fresh air to passengers stuck on the ground for more than three hours.

The law, passed by the New York State Legislature last year and signed by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was supported by consumer groups who had become angered by lengthy delays that they said trapped passengers on airplanes for hours, sometimes without food or water. It took effect Jan. 1.

But the legislation was bitterly opposed by aviation industry trade groups, who said individual states should not have authority over airlines.

A lower court federal judge in December dismissed an industry trade group’s challenge to the law, saying those provisions are “presumed” and constitute necessary health and safety factors.

In its ruling Tuesday, the appeals court wrote that if the law was allowed to stand “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 appeals court said also that the goals of the legislation were “laudable” but that only the federal government has the right to enact laws governing airlines.

New York State officials could appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but officials said Tuesday that such a move was not certain at this point.

One of the main events spurring was the law was the February 2007 ice storm at Kennedy Airport that crippled flights, especially for JetBlue, and left many passengers stuck on planes for hours. In the wake of that, JetBlue put together its own “passenger bill of rights” that addressed some of the issues in the eventual legislation.

In a statement Tuesday, JetBlue said, “We believe we can best care for our customers using the guidelines established” by the airline “which is more encompassing than anything that can be legislated.”

Assemb. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), prime sponsor of the “Passengers Bill of Rights” in the state assembly, said he was disappointed by the ruling and said the court of appeals exhibited “a flippant attitude” toward the matter. Gianaris said he intends to talk to State Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo about whether the ruling should be appealed.

“This law was written to provide only the basic necessities,” Gianaris said. “It’s a far cry from picking and choosing which beverages people can have.”

State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick), chairman of the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection, also a sponsor of the law, said he too was disappointed by the ruling.

“I continue to be stunned by the audacity of the airline industry which fought so hard to deny the flying public basic simple rights like being able to use a restroom or get a drink of water while stranded on a delayed plane,” Fuschillo said in a statement.

But the Air Transport Association, which represents the major carriers, said its position was vindicated by the ruling.

“…airline services are regulated by the federal government and … a patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests,” the ATA said. “This clear and decisive ruling sends a strong message to other states that are considering similar legislation.”

Kate Hanni, the Napa, Calif. real estate agent who is widely-credited with starting a grassroots effort to pass legislation requiring amenities for trapped passengers, was reached by telephone Tuesday.

“I’m sick to my stomach,” said Hanni. “We have worked at the state level all year. I’ve made five trips to Washinton alone.”

Hanni began the movement after she and other passengers were stuck aboard an American Airlines plane at the airport in Austin, Tx., for 13 hours in December 2006.

“We had no food and no potable water,” Hanni recalled. “I had one half bag of pretzels. I gave that to my son. We were going nuts.”

David Stempler, president of the Air Passengers Association, which represents consumers, said any legislation requiring airlines to provide food, water and other amenities would have to come from the U.S. Congress.

“Since the earliest days of the republic, we have always had national standards for interstate transportation,” Stempler said.

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