Mar 25, 2008 7:24 pm US/Eastern
Appeals Court Overturns NYS Airline Passenger Law
Angry Assemblyman Taking Fight To Attorney General
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Starting Tuesday there's no longer a "Passenger Bill of Rights" for people stuck on delayed planes at New York airports.
As CBS 2 HD has learned, it was a very short flight for the new law.
Ever been stuck on a plane on the runway... for hours?
Last year on Valentine's Day a storm delayed JetBlue passengers on planes for more than 10 hours with very little food. That created huge problems.
"We had very limited toilet usage while we were on the plane," passenger Elizabeth Regale said.
So after that fiasco Assemblyman Michael Gianaris drafted the "Passenger Bill of Rights," which meant folks stuck on grounded planes for more than three hours were entitled to food, water, clean toilets and fresh air.
It became law Jan. 1, but on Tuesday, less than three months later, a federal appeals court struck it down saying only the "federal government" can enact such a law.
"The fact is the federal government has had the opportunity to act on this for years and have not done so. In the meantime people are suffering," Gianaris said.
The Air Transport Association of America represents leading U.S. airlines and had challenged the law saying, "A patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests."
Passengers at LaGuardia Airport had mixed reactions.
"I think the commercial airlines will drive their customers away if they don't give good service, so I think it was too much regulation, so I'm not too upset about it," said Steve Cates of Texas.
But Barbara Levin has been stuck on planes too many times, and can't understand why airlines don't let passengers wait it out in the terminal.
"I feel that I'm being taken advantage of, I'm being held hostage," said Barbara Levin of Arkansas. "I think it's totally inappropriate not to let people exercise their right of choice."
Gianaris says he's not done fighting for passengers' rights. He's now talking to the Attorney General about the next step.
New York was the first state to pass such a law, but now that it's been struck down. It could send a message to politicians in other states that might have been considering similar action.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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