Could Airlines Face Fines for Delayed and Canceled Flights?
By now, you likely know someone personally affected by flight delays and last minute cancellations.
Why are these experiences becoming the norm?
Senator Bernie Sanders may have an answer.
Photo Credit: Twitter
Yes, everyone’s favorite photo shopped Grandpa and star of Disney Memes: Vermont State Senator Bernie Sanders.
This week Bernie drafted a letter to Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
Image Credit: DAVID GRUNFELD DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY, NOLA
A Rise in Frustrations:
In the letter, Bernie states that airline passengers are growing increasingly frustrated due to the rise in flight delays and cancellations.
Because of this, passengers are missing weddings, funerals, business meetings and family vacations.
My own flight to Vancouver later this summer has already changed 6 times in the past month. Additionally, my direct flight now has multiple stops with long layovers.
I guess I should consider myself lucky because my flights haven’t been canceled. Yet.
Photo: Fortune
And I am not alone. Just this week, many of my fellow MickeyTravels Agents have had delays and last minute flight cancellations:
- One arrived home 30 hours later than expected
- Another had the second leg of her flight canceled, leaving her family of 6 to fly into a different airport and drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami so they wouldn’t miss boarding their Disney Cruise the next day
- Another had 3 flights canceled before being able to fly home 4 days later than originally scheduled
There are many more stories just like these.
With the cost of airline tickets rising 38% over the past year on top of delays and cancellations, patience is wearing thin.
What can be done?
Photo Credit: Forbes
Why is this happening?
Bernie Sanders is calling out airline companies for scheduling flights they know they cannot staff.
“Perhaps most shocking is recent allegations from the American Airlines pilots’ union that airlines are intentionally scheduling flights they can’t staff due to a pilot shortage,” Bernie writes.
The Vermont Senator says that it is simply unacceptable. I agree. Taxpayers bailed out the airline industry during the pandemic and now both passengers and crew members are not being treated with the respect they deserve.
We have seen what happens when over worked staff is combined with frustrated passengers. It’s not pretty.
Photo Credit: Newsweek
Bernie’s Plan:
In the letter Bernie Sanders wrote to Pete Buttigieg, he lays out the following plan:
- Require Airlines to promptly refund passengers for flights that have been delayed over an hour. Current law states that airline customers are entitled to a refund if there is a significant schedule change and/or significant delays. Yet, there is no guideline that says what qualifies as a significant change or delay. Further, airlines should be required to cover all meals and lodging for passengers of flights delayed greater than 4 hours.
- Impose fines on airlines for flights that are delayed more than 2 hours. In 2009 the Transportation Secretary introduced the “Tarmac Delay Rule.” This fines airlines up to $27,500 per passenger for domestic flights sitting on the tarmac for more than 3 hours and international flights for 4 hours. After that rule was introduced, tarmac delays decreased by almost 98%. Bernie wants those time frames reduced to 2 hours and add in a clause that any flight delayed more than 2 hours will face a $15,000 fine per passenger.
- Impose fines on airlines for scheduling flights that they are unable to properly staff. Bernie states that airlines should be fined $55,000 per passenger if airlines cancel flights they know cannot be fully staffed.
Bernie goes on to say that we cannot allow airlines to increase revenue knowing full well that those flights will never get off the ground.
With the world coming out of a pandemic and wanting to reschedule so many missed vacations, something needs to be done.
The ball is in your court, Pete.
Source: Sanders, Bernard. “To the Honorable Pete Buttigieg.” 28 June 2022.
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