NY Air Passenger Law Crashes and Burns

Within six months, New York had enacted the nation's first law requiring airlines to provide food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers trapped in delayed planes for more than three hours.

A federal appeals court struck down the law Tuesday, saying despite admirable aims, it interferes with federal law governing the price, route or service of an air carrier.

"If New York's view regarding the scope of its regulatory authority carried the day, another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel," the court wrote.

Encroaching on Federal Territory

It said that while the goals of the law were "laudable," and the circumstances prompting its adoption "deplorable," only the federal government has the authority to impose such regulations.

The ruling was a victory for the Air Transport Association of America, the industry trade group representing leading U.S. airlines. The association argued the law could lead to an unmanageable hodgepodge of state statutes.

The law's prime sponsor, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, vowed to continue pressing the issue. Proponents' options include an appeal, a new law or pressuring the federal government to create similar rules for long-delayed flights.

Unbearable Conditions

The New York Airline Passenger Bill of Rights was passed after passengers were stranded aboard airplanes for up to 10 hours on several JetBlue Airways flights at Kennedy International Airport on Valentine's Day 2007. They complained that they were deprived of food and water and that toilets overflowed.

In response, JetBlue created a customer bill of rights that promises vouchers to delayed customers.

A month later, hundreds more passengers on other airlines were stranded aboard planes at JFK after a daylong ice storm.

More of the Same

Gianaris called Tuesday's ruling the "latest in a long line of federal court decisions protecting the already powerful corporations in this country to the detriment of the average public."

The New York law took effect Jan. 1. Airlines that violated its its provisions could be fined US$1,000 per passenger.

In a statement, the Air Transport Association said the ruling vindicates its position that airline services are regulated by the federal government and that "a patchwork of laws" by states and local authorities would not benefit customers.

"This clear and decisive ruling sends a strong message to other states that are considering similar legislation," it said.

Not Off the Hook

During appellate arguments earlier this month, Seth Waxman, a lawyer for the trade group, said Congress and a dozen other states were considering laws similar to New York's.

A California lawmaker said he would continue seeking approval of his bill, modeled after the New York statute.

"This has nothing to do with the federal jurisdiction of scheduling airlines or the level of service provided," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat. "It just deals with basic needs to meet human health. That's a concern of the state."

A recent federal report showed that about 24 percent of flights nationally arrived late in the first 10 months of last year, which was the industry's second-worst performance record since comparable data began being collected in 1995.