Airline passengers just got a bit of bad news last Tuesday. A federal appeals court has thrown out the first airline passenger "bill of rights" passed in the country. These rights were passed in the state of New York after repeated incidents of airline passengers being stuck on a plane for many hours waiting for take-off.
The New York law said the airlines must provide water, food and access to clean bathrooms for those people stuck in a plane that cannot take-off. That just sounds reasonable to me. But the airlines didn't like it.
The Air Transport Association of America, which is an industry group representing U.S. airlines, took the law to court and got it thrown out. The federal court agreed that the goals of the law were "laudable" and the conditions that existed on the planes during these extended periods on the tarmac were "deplorable".
But the court went on to say that states could not pass laws regulating the airline industry, because that was an area reserved for the federal government. All I can say, is it's time for Congress to act then. Airplanes are uncomfortable enough, without being stuck for hours on the tarmac without even the barest essentials.
How about it Democrats? Can you help us out here? We know the Republicans won't do it, because it would upset their corporate masters.
No comments:
Post a Comment
ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. And neither will racist,homophobic, or misogynistic comments. I do not mind if you disagree, but make your case in a decent manner.