Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Travel, Politics, US News
Liv Bridge
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Travel, Politics, US News
Donald Trump has abandoned a Joe Biden plan that would have permitted passengers compensation for disrupted flights.
The Trump administration announced on Thursday (September 4) this week that it intends to reverse Biden's initiative that sought to provide better consumer protections for airline passengers.
The proposal would have required airlines to compensate stranded passengers with money, meals, rebooking, hotels, and transportation to and from accommodation in the event a flight is cancelled or severely disrupted, or due to delayed/lost baggage, as a fault of the airline.
Biden put the idea forward, which would have aligned more closely with European airline consumer rules, in the final weeks of his administration in December last year.
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However, Trump apparently isn't too keen on rolling it out, and instead has moved to scrap it in a move the government considers 'consistent with Department administration priorities.'
The POTUS likely signed off on its withdrawal in part of his plan to save money on schemes he believes to be wasteful or burdensome.
While it's bad news for travellers, industry trade group Airlines for America, which represents United, Delta and Southwest Airlines, celebrated the decision.
"We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don’t solve issues important to our customers," the group said in a statement as per ABC News.
Many US airlines already offer some degree of customer support when they are responsible for flight cancellations or severe delays, but passengers usually have to seek the service out.
Biden's rule would have seen affected passengers receive compensation starting from $200 when a flight is canceled or significantly delayed as a result of a mechanical problem with the jet or due to a tech-related issue like a computer outage.
Compensation was tipped to be as high as $775 in the event of delays spanning nine hours or more.
Biden's Transportation Department also considered to allow free rebooking on the next available flight or even flights on rival airlines as well as meals and other resources when passengers are stranded overnight.
At the time, many flight carriers opposed it, with Spirit Airlines stating the rule threatened to hike its operating costs and therefore drive its ticket costs for passengers.
“There is no free lunch,” the airliner said.
“If every time a flight has to be cancelled due to, say, an aircraft maintenance issue, airlines were required to pay each affected passenger $300 plus hotel and meals, there would be a perverse incentive to cancel flights preemptively at any hint of trouble.”
However, dozens of travelers on social media have blasted Trump's decision to scrap the plan.
"It’s like he wakes up determined to find one way to make life sh**ier for the working class, every single day," read one comment on Twitter.
Another chimed: "Taking away passenger protections doesn’t ‘fix’ anything it just proves politicians will always side with billion-dollar companies over citizens."
"Trump's scrapping of airline delay compensation rules proves once again he's more loyal to corporate fat cats than to everyday Americans getting screwed at the airport," said a third.