(UnitedVoice.com) – For years, customers have had to deal with headaches at airports. In fact, thousands of flight cancellations and delays have left travelers stranded over the last several months. President Joe Biden recently introduced regulations to help consumers, but not everyone is convinced.
On May 8, Biden held an event centered on airline accountability at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The president told the reporters in attendance that he believes the airline industry is incredibly important for the economy, pointing out how helpful they were at distributing medication and addressing supply chain issues over the last several years. However, he said customers don’t always have an enjoyable experience.
Biden continued, saying the industry received almost $50 billion in federal assistance to keep airlines afloat during the pandemic. Meanwhile, travelers haven’t always been served well. To solve that problem, his administration will start holding airlines accountable.
The administration launched a new website, FlightsRight.gov. This will allow flyers to see airlines’ compensation policies, including cash, travel vouchers, and miles. The president said that later this year, the administration would “propose a historic new rule” to make it mandatory for all airlines to fully compensate travelers for all of the expenses incurred after their flight was canceled or delayed, including for taxis, meals, and any other costs.
The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing an upcoming proposed rule that would make it mandatory for all U.S. airlines to compensate you with meals, hotels, taxis, rebooking fees, and cash miles or travel vouchers when they’re to blame for a cancellation or delay. pic.twitter.com/hWStuzhuoi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 9, 2023
The New York Times reported Airlines for America, a trade association representing the companies, released a statement pointing out that some issues are beyond their control, weather or outages in air traffic control towers, for example. Airlines have also reportedly reduced their flight schedules because of FAA staffing issues. The statement explained that these companies don’t have any “incentive to delay or cancel a flight […] — but safety is always the top priority.”
The Department of Transportation will now have to write a rule that meets the president’s parameters. A date for when the new proposal will be available is not known.
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