Passenger rights part of air bill

Airline passenger advocates are again pushing for passenger bill of rights legislation, which is included in a broader bill to be considered in a congressional committee Thursday.

The passenger bill of rights legislation is part of a bill to be marked up today in the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure committee for Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization. At the same time, the Canadian Parliament is considering its own passenger bill of rights, which includes some more stringent protections for passengers.

The proposed U.S. legislation focuses on passengers stuck on planes on the tarmac for hours, as happened at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during Sunday’s snowstorm.

Though a Delta cancellation after a more than four-hour delay, including hours on the plane, drew criticism, Delta said it “fully complied with its customer service commitment” to ensure customers have the option to deplane during long ground delays and to offer water and restrooms while away from the gate. While the incident drew criticism, Delta said it met standards called for in passenger bill of rights legislation.

The U.S. passenger rights legislation does not include a maximum amount of time passengers can be stuck on planes, but it does ask airlines to create contingency plans for long delays and would provide for stranded passengers’ “essential needs,” according to Kate Hanni, executive director of FlyersRights.org.

Airlines have resisted the additional regulation.

“You shouldn’t legislate customer service,” said Dave Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, an airline industry group.