Senators urge Trump to reconsider dropping Biden airline compensation plan

A group of 18 Democratic senators called on the Trump administration to reconsider its intention to rescind the previous administration’s plan to require airlines to pay cash compensation to passengers if flight disruptions were caused by carriers. In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation, under then-President Joe Biden, sought public comment in a regulatory proceeding on whether airlines should pay up to $775 per passenger for delays they cause. USDOT announced last month that it planned to abandon the compensation plan and rescind Biden regulations requiring airlines and ticket agents to disclose service fees as well as airfares.

“This is a common-sense recommendation: When an airline’s mistake imposes unexpected costs on families, the airline should attempt to remedy the situation by providing consumers with accommodations and helping offset their costs,” said the letter, signed by Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell, Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jack Reed and others.

A spokesman for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not immediately comment Tuesday but said some rules previously proposed or adopted under Biden “go beyond what Congress requires by law, and we intend to reconsider those extra statutory requirements.” The ministry also plans to reduce regulatory burdens on airlines and ticket agencies by writing new rules detailing the definition of flight cancellation that entitles consumers to ticket refunds and reviewing rules on ticket pricing and advertising.
Airlines pushed the Trump administration to go further and praised the action to cancel the Biden plan. USDOT has taken other steps to reverse Biden’s airline consumer efforts. In May, the Justice Department dropped the Biden administration’s lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, accusing the airline of illegally operating chronically delayed flights.