Wed, Jan 14, 2009
Senators Boxer And Snowe Piloting New Law In Senate
FlyersRights.org tells ANN that
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
introduced the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights in the Senate on
Tuesday.
The bill will give airline passengers legal rights by preventing
them from being held indefinitely on planes, ensuring passengers'
needs are met, and helping airlines coordinate with government
agencies.
"We applaud Senator Boxer and Senator Snowe for introducing the
Airline Passengers Bill of Rights in Congress to give passengers
legal rights and ensure their well-being," said group founder and
spokesperson Kate Hanni. "For far too long, the airlines have put
profits ahead of customer service and the basic human needs of the
flying public. It is our hope that this bill will give passengers a
legal voice when confronted with the horrific ordeal that tens of
thousands of passengers have endured when held for many hours on
airport tarmacs without food, water and other essential human
needs.
"Coalition representatives recently met with President-Elect
Obama's transportation transition team, and Senator Obama was a
co-sponsor of the previous bill, so we are excited about the
prospects for this new bill.
"We encourage all Members of Congress to join the efforts of
Senator Boxer and Senator Snowe to ensure the passage of a
comprehensive, enforceable Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights that
would modernize and improve airline industry standards for customer
service."
The main provisions of the new bill are:
- Airlines to offer passengers the option of safely deplaning
once they have sat on the ground for three hours after the plane
door has closed
- Airlines to provide passengers with food, potable water,
comfortable cabin temperature and ventilation and adequate
restrooms while a plane is delayed on the ground
- A consumer complaint hotline so that passengers can alert the
agency about delays
- Airports and airlines to develop contingency plans to be
reviewed and approved by DOT, and fines for air carriers and
airports that do not submit or fail to comply with contingency
plans.
CAPBOR has 24,000 members and is the largest non-profit airline
passengers rights Coalition.
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