Action
Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
Summary
The Department of Transportation seeks comment on rules it is proposing to enhance airline passenger protections in the following ways: by requiring air carriers to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and incorporate them in their contracts of carriage, by requiring air carriers to respond to consumer problems, by deeming the continued operation of a flight that is chronically late to be unfair and deceptive in violation of 49 U.S.C. 41712, by requiring air carriers to publish information on flight delays on their Web sites, and by requiring air carriers to adopt customer service plans, incorporate these into their contracts of carriage, and audit their own compliance with their plans. The Department takes this action on its own initiative in response to the many recent instances when passengers have been subject to waits on airport tarmacs for very long periods and also in response to the ongoing high incidence of flight delays.