Airlines Are Challenging Biden-Era Regulations

One month into the Trump administration, airlines are pressing the federal government to review certain consumer protection regulations from former President Joe Biden’s term. 

The International Air Transport Association wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking the Department of Transportation to reevaluate several Obama- and Biden-era regulations on passenger protections. 

“The first Trump Administration was strongly committed to the letter and spirit of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and its endorsement of free market principles,” IATA wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, the Biden Administration parlayed its limited authority to protect air passengers from ‘unfair and deceptive’ practices by airlines into an unprecedented regulatory regime more prescriptive than that applied to any other mode of transportation.”

IATA said in the letter it wanted the Trump administration to “forestall DOT’s march toward further re-regulation of the vital commercial aviation industry.” 

Specifically, the trade group asked the Trump administration to axe regulations related to compensation for passengers who experience significant delays or disruptions, an inquiry into competition within the industry, and a junk fee rule. 

An appeals court tossed out the junk fee rule in January due to procedural violations. However, the court did not take issue with the DOT’s authority to issue the rule. IATA asked the Trump administration to “terminate” the rule. 

The DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Biden administration implemented a slate of airline consumer protections that received a lukewarm response from the industry. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said he believed a second Trump administration would be a “breath of fresh air” when it came to regulations. 

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Skift in January that he believed such regulations were beneficial for the airline industry. 

“I do continue to wish they understood that when we have better customer service, it's going to be better for their businesses and for the sector as a whole,” Buttigieg said.  

Airlines Take Issue With Wheelchair Rules

IATA and Airlines for America are also challenging Biden-era rules on wheelchairs. 

IATA asked the Trump administration to review a regulation that would require airlines to return a delayed wheelchair to a passenger’s destination within 24 hours of arrival. 

“Unrealistic regulatory requirements set expectations that are difficult to meet and complicate efforts toward achieving global consistency in this area,” IATA wrote. 

A4A, and major U.S. airlines American, Delta, United, Southwest and JetBlue, filed a lawsuit with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting the court to reassess the stricter requirements of the rules on wheelchairs. 

“It’s important to note that while we have always been supportive of a wheelchair rule as reflected in our comments, certain provisions of the final rule go beyond the DOT’s statutory authority, violate the Administrative Procedure Act and represent regulatory overreach by the Biden Administration,” A4A said in a statement. “Our legal action seeks to curtail this overreach.”

Last year, the Biden administration proposed a set of new rules to protect passengers with disabilities, in what Buttigieg described as the largest expansion of rights for those wheelchairs since 2008. 

The rule made delaying the return of a wheelchair or mishandling one a violation of federal law, making it easier for the DOT to penalize airlines. The proposal also required airlines to provide temporary replacement wheelchairs to affected travelers.

“The Court should “hold unlawful and set aside” the Rule, in whole or in part, because provisions of the Rule exceed DOT’s statutory authority,” A4A argued in the lawsuit. 

Read IATA's letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy here: