Rep. Mike Thompson Urges Committee Leaders to Include Key Passenger Protections in FAA Reauthorization Bill

Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1), a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, sent a letter to key members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including Chairman John Mica (R-FL) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall, II (D-WV), urging them to include crucial passenger protections in the House Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. These provisions, which include a “three-hour rule” that would require air carriers to offer passengers the option to deplane if 3 hours have passed since door closure or landing, were previously included in the Passenger Bill of Rights Act - a bill Congressman Thompson introduced in 2007 and 2009 and is preparing to introduce this year.

“Air carriers shouldn't be allowed to hold passengers on a delayed plane indefinitely,” Rep. Thompson continued. “It's abusive and potentially dangerous. Passengers deserve basic protections, including the ability to de-board a plane that has been sitting on a runway for hours.”

While severe weather conditions are beyond the control of any airline, air carriers still have a responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort of their passengers. Far too often, however, passengers on delayed flights are forced to remain on grounded planes for extensive amounts of time and under unacceptable conditions: inadequate food or water, overflowing toilets, poor ventilation, and extreme cabin temperatures are just some of the conditions that have been reported.

In December 2009, the Department of Transportation (DOT) took steps to address the impact of extensive tarmac delays by issuing several new passenger protections, including the three-hour rule. Although the new rules are helpful, they can still be revoked at any time by DOT. In order to make these important passenger protections permanent, they must be included in legislation like the FAA reauthorization bill and passed into law.

Dear Chairmen Mica and Petri and Ranking Members Rahall and Costello;

As you take what many of us hope are the final steps towards crafting a long term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), I wanted to emphasize my support for two provisions that were considered in last year's House-passed bill and urge that they be included in your updated legislation.

Essential Air Service Program

I urge that you include Section 134 of last year's House-passed FAA reauthorization bill which required economically depressed communities to provide a 5% local match for Airport Improvement Program funds instead of the 10% match that is currently required for small airports.

In general, I believe that we need to strengthen the Essential Air Service program to ensure that small and rural communities are able to participate in our nation's aviation system. Requiring only a 5 percent local match, instead of 10 percent, ensures that rural areas of the country, like the one I represent, are not disadvantaged by their size or economy when trying to support the airports their citizens rely on. Though I would prefer that airports in economically distressed communities be exempted from matching grant obligations under the Airport Improvement Program altogether, I believe that the 5 percent match compromise language still goes a long way towards helping communities like mine.

Air Passenger Service Improvements

I urge you to include Section 401 of last year's Senate-passed FAA reauthorization bill which required among other provisions, that air carriers and airport operators provide passengers an option to deplane and return to the terminal if 3 hours have elapsed since door closure or landing. Section 401 of the Senate-passed bill mirrored language that I introduced last Congress, known as the “Air Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (H.R. 624).

As we have all become too well aware, thousands of travelers continue to be crammed inside planes that are stranded on tarmacs and that are ill equipped to handle such conditions. It has been documented that some passengers have been stranded in such circumstances for upwards of 10 hours at a time. Airlines have promised to address these concerns but have made little or no progress. Section 401 of the Senate-passed FAA reauthorization bill is necessary to address the serious passenger delay problems plaguing the industry but which the airlines are reluctant to correct.

While the House-passed version of this legislation included language in Section 407 that assured some rights are afforded to airline passengers and that contingency plans are in place in the event of excessive delays, they must go further. The Senate's language is stronger and more preferable in this regard and should be adopted.

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to have your office contact my staff. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Mike Thompson

Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 1^st Congressional District, which includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and portions of Sonoma and Yolo counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.