lauren irwin and the hill
19 minutes ago
(The Hill) – The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Tuesday that it is partnering with 15 states to investigate airlines and protect passengers amid the air travel boom.
The partnership will allow the Biden administration to prioritize fraud cases if state attorneys general determine that airlines or ticket companies engage in “unfair or deceptive aviation practices.” Become.
If the state attorney general determines that the airline is violating the law, it could refer the case to the DOT for enforcement. The partnership will give each participating state's attorney general access to the federal complaint database, ensuring airlines are able to comply with state-level investigations, the DOT said in a release.
“We take our mission to protect consumers seriously, and today's launch of the Air Passenger Protection Partnership is an important milestone in that effort,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
Buttigieg spoke at a launch event at Denver International Airport, where Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) was also present. Buttigieg said the partnership is a bipartisan effort to protect consumers.
“Consumers deserve to be treated fairly, to know what they're getting, and to get everything they paid for when they get on the plane,” Wieser said. “By working together, we can improve passenger travel and hold airlines and ticket retailers accountable for harming consumers.”
Buttigieg pointed to travelers whose flights have been canceled and who are forced to wait days for a new flight or pay extra to fly home on a different airline. He said this is a violation of passengers' rights and happens too often, the Associated Press reported.
Participating states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Attorneys general from the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also participating.
States have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) ensuring that state attorneys general and the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection will cooperate on consumer complaints of unfair or deceptive practices by airlines.
“Federal law imposes a responsibility on the DOT to address airline consumer protection issues,” the release aid states.
Several other countries have expressed interest in signing the memorandum of understanding as well.
