Just recently a federal court through out New York law that would have mandated that air line passengers who are stuck on grounded planes for a considerable period of time to be given basic necessities like water to drink, functioning bathrooms etc.. The reason? It conflicted with a federal law-title 49, United States Code. Both the House and the Senate have bills in committee that will bring the federal law into step with local laws and make the airline passenger’s life a bit more tolerable while they sit and wait, and wait and wait.

In the Senate, the bill- S.678 is sponsored by Senator Boxer of California and co sponsored by Sen Cartwell of Washington, Sens Clinton and Schumer of New York,
Sen Feingold of Wisconsin, Sen Landrieu of Louisiana,
Sen Lautenberg od New Jersey, Sen Reid of Nevada and
Sen Snowe of Maine.

Known as the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2007 – it would require that the air lines in the case of a delayed departure, give the passengers with:adequate food, potable water, and restroom facilities as well as the option to leave the plane after 3 hours have passed in most cases and then in any subsequent 3 hour period. This bill has been sitting in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for a year. The last action was on 4/11/07.

Over in the House of Representatives, a similar bill has 53 sponsors. This one is also still in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation.

Unlike the Senate committee, the House has not yet held any hearings at all. It has been sitting in committee since March of last year. It is a much more involved bill than the one in the Senate, So when each one finally gets out of committee, goes to the floor, gets debated and changed and then goes to a joint committee of both houses ro be put into one bill that then has to be passed by both and signed into law by the President, there will have to be compromises made.

The House bill calls for airlines to establish procedures for handling passenger complaints, provide customers at the airport and aboard an aircraft with information regarding delay, cancellation, or diversion, it has the same 3 hour policy that the Senate bill does. It also mandates that airlines
provide passengers on a departure- or arrival-delayed ( the Senate Bill only says departure) grounded aircraft with essential ventilation, food, water, sanitary, and medical services; publish a monthly list of its chronically delayed flights and provide such information upon ticket purchase, publish and update lowest fare and schedule information; and make every reasonable effort to return lost baggage within 24 hours- wouldn’t that be nice.

The House bill also has parts directed at the Secretary of Transportation that would mandate him to review airline and airport emergency contingency plans for bad weather, work with air carriers to ensure that a pilot operating a (long) departure delayed-flight is permitted to return the aircraft to the terminal to allow passengers to exit the aircraft without losing the flight’s departure sequence position and conduct a study of the ability of air carriers to provide for passengers’ essential needs in cases of diverted flights.

Any one who has been stuck on an airplane in a situation like this knows how horrible it can be and it is a shame that it requires a law to see to it that basic human needs are taken care of. However that is the way it is. A year sitting in committee is too long. And it should not take another major airport delay to get things moving.

If you think airline passengers deserve a Bill of Rights, make your wishes known. The members of the Senate committee are Democrats Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI)
John D. Rockefeller, IV (WV), John F. Kerry (MA), Byron L. Dorgan (ND), Barbara Boxer (CA), Bill Nelson (FL)
Maria Cantwell (WA), Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ), Mark Pryor (AR), Thomas Carper (DE),Claire McCaskill (MO) and Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Republicans Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (AK), John McCain (AZ), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX),Olympia J. Snowe (ME), Gordon H. Smith (OR), John Ensign (NV), John E. Sununu (NH), Jim DeMint (SC), David Vitter (LA), John Thune (SD) and Roger Wicker (MS).

The House subcommittee has two phone numbers that you can contact them at.(202) 225-9161 for the Democrats and
(202) 226-3220. Contact them. Let them know you want your rights every time you fly.