Airline representative groups have criticised US President Joe Biden’s plan to force US carriers to compensate passengers affected by flight cancellations and delays.
President Biden announced, earlier this week, that he intends to pass a law making US airlines compensate stranded passengers – be that covering the cost of meals or accommodation, if necessary.
US airline industry group Airline for America (A4A) said that more than half of flight cancellations in the US are outside of airlines’ controls – through weather or air traffic control issues.
IATA added that already the 10 largest US airlines offer meals or cash vouchers to customers hit by extended delays – with 9 of those carriers also already offering complimentary hotel accommodation where passengers are affected by overnight cancellations.
“Airlines work hard to get their passengers to their destinations on time and do their best to minimize the impacts of any delays. Airlines already have financial incentives to get their passengers to their destination as planned. Managing delays and cancellations is very costly for airlines. And passengers can take their loyalty to other carriers if they are not satisfied with service levels. The added layer of expense that this regulation will impose will not create a new incentive, but it will have to be recouped –which is likely to have an impact on ticket prices,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Mr Walsh added: “Aviation is a highly integrated activity involving a number of different partners, each of whom has a vital role in ensuring the smooth operation of the air transport system. Instead of singling out airlines as this proposal most assuredly does, the Biden Administration should be working toward ensuring a fully funded FAA, a fully staffed controller workforce, and completing the rollout of the decades-delayed FAA NextGen air traffic control modernisation programme.”
IATA said the regulation could raise unrealistic expectations among travellers that are unlikely to be met.
“Most situations would not be covered by this regulation as weather is responsible for the bulk of air travel delays and flight cancellations. Air traffic controller shortages played a role in last year’s delays and are also an issue in 2023, as the Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged with its request that airlines reduce their flight schedules to the New York metropolitan area. Runway closures and equipment failures also contribute to delays and cancellations. Additionally, supply chain issues in the aircraft manufacturing and support sectors have resulted in aircraft delivery delays and parts shortages over which airlines have little or no control but which impact reliability,” IATA said.
