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December 21, 2007
US judge rejects airline preemption claim in NY case
 On Wednesday, U.S. district judge Lawrence Kahn ruled against (decision) the Air Transport Association in its lawsuit seeking to overturn New York State's first-in-the-nation airline passenger bill of rights law, holding that federal law does not preempt New York from granting passenger rights. Excerpt:
The field of health and safety is one of the most established areas of state police power.[...] Like regulations governing blood collection, or the protection of groundwater, the Passenger Bill of Rights is an exercise in state protection of the public health. Fresh air, water, sanitation and food are necessities in the extreme situation in which this act applies. It threatens the public health to contain people on grounded airplanes for hours without these necessities, particularly, though not exclusively, if passengers include diabetics, young children, the sick or the frail. Because the Passenger Bill of Rights involves the historic police power of New York State, Plaintiff bears a heavy burden in seeking to overcome the presumption against preemption. [citations omitted] And thankfully for pasengers, it was a heavy burden the airlines failed to meet. As Ken Belson reported in his story New York Law on Stranded Passengers' Rights Is Upheld:
In a victory for air travelers, a federal judge in Albany upheld on Thursday a state law that would penalize airlines that fail to provide adequate services to passengers trapped on the tarmac for more than three hours. The decision, which the Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, opposed, paves the way for other states to write similar laws. It also means that beginning Jan. 1, airlines operating in New York can be fined up to $1,000 a passenger if they do not supply water, fresh air, power and working restrooms during lengthy delays. The Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights ( flyersrights.org) intervened on behalf of the state. This is a big victory, but the case will likely continue on appeal.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at December 21, 2007 03:01 PM
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