Airlines urge Trump admin to end Biden's push on paying stranded customers

By Mary Schlangenstein 

US airlines are urging the Transportation Department to terminate an effort begun during the Biden Administration that could have required carriers to make cash payments to stranded travelers for disruptions. 

That proposed review contradicts the Trump Administration’s policy of reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on consumers and will only result in a failure to improve customer service, Airlines for America said in a letter to the department Monday. The request for public feedback on the planned proposal originated in the closing month of Biden’s term and was one of several consumer-protection initiatives pushed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 

 

The review “raises substantial questions of fact, law and policy,” according to Airlines for America, the lobbying group representing the nation’s largest carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. The premises for the review — that airlines cause significant harm for consumers — “are entirely wrong or significantly flawed.”

 

The proposal being considered would require airlines to pay stranded passengers at least $200, and as much as $775, in cash when a disruption is caused by the carrier. It also would require payments to cover meals and hotel stays for travelers when flights are canceled or significantly delayed. 

 

Airlines already have policies that, under some circumstances, provide automatic refunds, meals and hotel rooms for stranded passengers, Airlines for America said.

 

The current administration has authority to end the review under a regulatory freeze signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 to give the new federal department leaders time to review and approve any new or pending regulatory actions, the trade group said.