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A state law proposed to offer airline passengers trapped aboard grounded planes at New York airports a baseline of humane treatment (e.g. water, air, bathroom facilities) was struck down by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today. The New York Airline Passenger Bill of Rights was enacted after some high-profile incidents that had passengers stuck aboard delayed flights for hours, with overflowing toilets and no food or drink.
New York State was a practical place for such legislation to originate as the state's three largest regional airports--Newark, Laguardia, and JFK--lead the list in flight delays and congestion. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a longtime critic of the FAA, has gone as far to call for the resignation of the head of the FAA, given the pathetic state of NY air travel.
The Court of Appeals ruled, however, that since airline travel is primarily an interstate affair already regulated by the federal government, it would be inappropriate for states to begin enacting a patchwork of laws of their own making. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer: the ball is officially in your court.
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in essence it is a good ruling as it puts the power in the federal courts and not the state courts...can you imagine what a precedent that would set for state legislatures? !
The states need to start growing a bigger spine and ween themselves off federal stipends to make their own rules.
Well, then here's hoping they decide this is a good idea for every state.
IMHO, there is absolutely nothing good about flying. From the inept airport staff, to the delays and cancellations, to the lost and stolen luggage, I find nothing to smile about except the airport bar. Unfortunately, not flying would mean never seeing a lot of great places, so I deal.
So basically prisoners at gitmo get better treatment than passengers trapped on a grounded airplane?
If you don't like flying, stop doing it. Un-abated travel may be a "right" but flying on an airline is not.
Part of the reason flying is so bad stems from the fact that its become cheap enough that most Americans can now afford it. Air travel is no longer a luxury and too many people feel entitled to it.
on to the supreme court!
The states need to start growing a bigger spine and ween themselves off federal stipends to make their own rules.
While I'm as much for State's rights as the next guy, the airlines are like the quintessential example interstate commerce and should be governed by the federal government. You can't create a situation where a plane taking off in New York, looping over New Jersey, then flying over Pennsylvania on its way to Michigan is regulated by four different sets of laws.
Which is also why California's passenger bill of rights will likely die in court.
Newark would not be covered by any legislation proposed in the State Legislature. I realize that in many ways that area is a suburb of NYC, but that doesn't change the fact that it is in NJ.
Being held prisoner on the tarmac puts one completely in a single state's jurisdiction.
it would probably be illegal, but travelers should get a big vat of that blue toilet water (complete with urine and feces) and park it on the steps of the capitol.
^ Weapons of Mass Disgusting, or Biological Warfare. Pick your own cell at Gitmo.
Not paying top dollar for an airline ticket means I don't get to sit in first class with my monacle and top hat sipping champagne.
It doesn't mean I have to put up with being treated like swine. I'd at least settle for cattle.
Just in from a flight
What a damned miserable experience air travel is now. It must be the only activity that, in the face of constant, appropriate and ACCURATE complaints from customers, has gotten steadily worse.
What a god damned miserable thing. I can't excuse a moment of the BS. The other commenters, and thousands of news stories, letters to the editors, and blogs, have covered the space. We all KNOW the details. No need to repeat them here.
Damn. I can't believe I paid for that.
Kidnapping is a state's jurisdiction.
"Being held prisoner on the tarmac puts one completely in a single state's jurisdiction."
Exactly. From a practical standpoint, I understand the airlines' argument. They'd much rather train their workers on one standard. So they should be lobbying the federal government to enact a national law.
Until then, they should be stuck with a patchwork. I don't see how this is interstate commerce. Yes, the plane will most likely be going to another state, but that is irrelevant, imo. Using that logic, a state could not regulate production of widgets, since they could ultimately be sold in another state. It's been long held (until recent pot cases forced some justices to stand on their head) that states have the ability to regulate intrastate matters.
In a way, unfortunately, Air travel is interstate commerce, and Fed trumps State. A Fed law (never happen, too much payola, lobbying) would be the thing. A State Dept Consumer Affairs law re:compensation may apply. Luckily, I have never in my years of travel encountered such a tarmac delay. If I do, by hour #3, I will have some chest pain & trouble breathing, requiring my removal from the plane.
Dadoc
Air travel is an interstate concern, yes. An airplane not leaving the ground obviously does not involve two different states, though.