Washington
(July 9, 2021) – U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard
Blumenthal (D-Conn), members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee, released the following statement on President Joe
Biden’s Executive Order directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
to engage in a series of rulemakings to address unfair airline baggage and
in-flight service fees:
“This
order marks a step toward simple fairness and respect for fliers. Airlines
unacceptably refuse to make refunds for delayed baggage or services
unprovided—chronic bad practices that would be banned by the President’s order
and by legislation that we have advocated. Now some consumer dollars will go
back into their pockets rather than airline coffers, but much more work is
necessary. Airlines are continuing to refuse cash refunds or even non-expiring
credits for canceled flights. They seem to have no shame.”
Markey
and Blumenthal have long called on airlines to curb unfair fees and practices,
and are the lead sponsors of the
Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights and
the
FAIR Fees Act, legislation that would substantially strengthen
consumer protection in aviation. Markey and Blumenthal have been leading
Congressional efforts to ensure airlines provide consumers with cash refunds
for canceled flights and waive expiration dates for flight credits issued
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawmakers most recently led a letter to DOT
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging the agency to act and protect consumers. The
text of the letter can be
found here. It follows the
letter sent to major
domestic airlines in May, requesting that airlines voluntarily make
pandemic-related travel credits valid indefinitely by default.
