Senators Markey, Blumenthal, Warren, Hawley Blast Airlines Over Treatment of Travelers During Recent Outage, Urge Compliance with the Law

Reports are especially concerning considering new consumer protections the Senators secured in recently enacted FAA Reauthorization Act

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (July 23, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today sent a letter to the airline industry trade association Airlines for America urging its members to comply with new federal laws protecting consumers, and to uphold commitments to consumers during major disruptions in travel.

In their letter to Airlines for America President Nicholas Calio, the lawmakers wrote, "It is unacceptable that, after another disruptive event, passengers have again been left frustrated with the service and responsiveness of the aviation industry."

The lawmakers continued, "Unfortunately, travelers are increasingly seeing airlines consider meltdowns 'business as usual.' With new consumer protection laws enacted under the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, it is long past time that airlines get their act together when responding to these disruptive events."

After the massive IT outage caused by a CrowdStrike update to Microsoft computers, airlines have cancelled thousands of flights, leaving travelers stranded. As of Monday, July 22 - days after the incident - thousands of flights were still being cancelled. While the Department of Transportation declared the outage a "controllable event," there were widespread media and first-person reports of confusion and chaos as travelers struggled to access refunds, hotels and transportation. These reports are especially concerning considering new consumer protection laws the Senators secured in the recently enacted FAA Reauthorization Act, including to require airlines to issue automatic refunds, banning family seating fees, and requiring vouchers offered in lieu of refunds be valid for at least five years.

Senator Markey has led several pieces of legislation with Senator Blumenthal to protect aviation consumers, including their comprehensive Airline Passenger Bill of Rights ActCash Refunds for Flight Cancellations Act, which significantly expand consumer protection laws for passengers.

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