The Biden administration is enlisting the help of officials in 15 states to enforce consumer protection laws for air travelers, a power limited by law to the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday that states, including California, New York and Illinois, will help ensure government enforcement activities keep pace with the current air travel boom.
Under an agreement announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, state attorneys general will be able to investigate complaints about airline service. If they believe an airline has broken the law or refuses to cooperate with investigators, states can refer cases to the Transportation Department for enforcement.
In return, the Transportation Department, or DOT, will give states access to its consumer complaint system and train state employees on federal consumer laws affecting airlines.
“This is a partnership that will significantly improve DOT’s ability to hold airlines accountable and protect passengers,” Buttigieg told reporters.
Buttigieg pointed to travelers whose flights are canceled and then have to wait days for a new flight or pay more to fly home on another airline. “Such things are a violation of passenger rights, and we see far too many cases of that,” he said.
Other states whose officials have signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Transportation include: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, plus the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.
Buttigieg, a Democrat, has repeatedly characterized the deal as bipartisan, but only two of the state officials who signed on are Republicans. Buttigieg indicated that his department hopes to recruit more states.
Under U.S. law, only the federal government regulates consumer protection laws affecting airlines. The airlines are not legally required to respond to state investigations.
Consumer advocates have pushed for enforcement power to be expanded to the states. However, both the full House and a key Senate committee declined to include that proposal in pending legislation affecting the Federal Aviation Administration, part of the Transportation Department.
“During the pandemic, we actually had more complaints about air travel than any other topic, and it was frustrating” because the state did not have the authority to investigate the complaints, Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser said.
Weiser argued that Congress should give states the power to enforce airline consumer protection laws, “but I have to say we didn’t wait for Congress to act.”
Consumer groups praised the agreement and said they would prefer to see Congress write into law the power of states to regulate consumer protection rules.
“This is the next best thing,” said William McGee, an aviation expert with the American Economic Liberties Project, which opposes industry consolidation. “We do not view this as a threat to DOT’s authority. We view it as the states assisting DOT, which does not have the staff to handle all the complaints they receive.”
Airlines for America, a trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines, said it is working with state and national groups “to continually improve the customer experience for all passengers. We appreciate the role of the attorneys general and their work on behalf of consumers, and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”
