FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague and friend Senator Boxer to hail the inclusion of the passengers' bill of rights in the reauthorization of the FAA. We have worked together for 5 years to protect passengers, and moving the passengers' bill of rights off the ``to-do'' list and into law will be a victory for the traveling public.

Senator Boxer and I have worked diligently as far back as the spring of 2007 to move this essential safety measure forward. Last year's passage of the FAA reauthorization bill brought us closer to our goal, but the legislation expired as the House and Senate grappled with other issues. Undeterred, Senator Boxer and I continued to stand up for this common sense safety and consumer protection proposal.

Make no mistake, providing airline travelers with access to food, water, restrooms, and medication is not just an issue of comfort--passengers who are pregnant, elderly, or ill require access to clean water and appropriate facilities--and no passenger should be held against their will just steps from an airport facility.

When passengers are able to safely deplane in the event of a delay, they absolutely should be given the choice to do so. This proposal ensures that passengers are given the right to get off a plane after 3 hours of delay on the tarmac. In 3 hours, a passenger could drive from Portland, ME, to Boston, complete an Olympic triathlon, or watch a full length movie. In that time, airlines can certainly ascertain whether or not they will actually be able to get off the ground. In March of last year, American Airlines flight 160 from San Diego to New York sat on the runway in Philadelphia for more than 5 hours, with passengers wondering if they ever would make it to New York.

Passengers already compete for window and aisle seats, and hope for exit rows with a bit more legroom. In fact, a Web site has made a business of providing charts of each air carrier's planes to show which have the best seats. The average airline seat is 17.2 inches wide, and passengers stuck in middle seats are given so little space to move. We have reached the point where we consult the Web to find which seat is least painful. Consumers want assurances that they will not be confined to their seats for any longer than necessary, and this bill helps assure passengers that their time in these tight spaces won't be longer than absolutely necessary to get to their destination.

We have gone from a record high of 268 flights delayed on the tarmac in June of 2009, to zero planes delayed on the tarmac for more than 3 hours in 2 consecutive months in October and November of last year. In the 8 months since the DOT rule was put in place, only 15 flights were delayed for more than 3 hours; in the same 8-month period the year before 586 flights with thousands of passengers aboard were held on the runway for hours on end.

After so many years of hearing horror stories of passengers being held hostage aboard aircraft for 9, 12, and even, what I believe is a record, 16 hours, passengers will be able to point
to Federal law that protects them. I hope the only runway record we set in the near future is the number of consecutive months without a single tarmac delay.

To its credit, the Department of Transportation took our bill, and wrote much of it into regulation, and for that, I commend Secretary LaHood and his predecessors. Flights will no longer be stranded on U.S. runways for hours on end, with passengers on board just hoping for clean water, lights, or appropriate facilities. The Department will also impose a fine of $27,500 per passenger on a stranded flight. Airlines that neglect the welfare of passengers aboard their aircraft won't soon forget the hefty fines they face.

The rules and regulations drafted by the Department of Transportation go a long way towards addressing our concerns. While it would be easy to say the job is done, and passengers are protected, I am pleased the FAA reauthorization will codify the passengers' bill of rights provisions.

It is critical that the Department of Transportation understands that the passengers' bill of rights will extend these passenger protections to international flights using U.S. airports. A passengers' final destination should not dictate his or her rights on the runway. Let us be clear, this passengers' bill of rights applies to every passenger on every commercial plane taking off from or landing in the United States or its territories.

At the end of a flight, there is simply no excuse for trapping people aboard an aircraft for hours on end with airport facilities only yards away. On December 26, 2010, four international flights were held at their U.S. destinations for upwards of 10 hours. While the airport and airlines continue to bicker over who was responsible for the delay, we want to make sure it never happens again. This legislation will ensure that airlines operating international flights will have a strong incentive to find a way to give passengers a way out. It is my hope that in the future all airlines will move heaven and earth to ensure that passengers are not trapped aboard aircraft without access to basic needs.

Airports and airlines have worked hard to improve service and reduce delays. In Portland, one of the major airports in Maine, the number of cancelled flights has dropped from 702 in 2001, to 213 in 2010, and the airport had the greatest percentage of on time departures since 2002. The naysayers who told travelers that these new rules would cause hundreds of cancellations have been proven wrong. Now, if we could only tame our famous New England winter storms, we could reduce that number even more.

This bill also provides recourse to consumers who have complaints or concerns about their air travel experience. When you have an issue with air travel, a consumer complaint hotline at DOT will be available to take your call. While it is our hope that this bill will improve the flying experience for travelers, passengers should have a clear path to addressing concerns with airlines. DOT should serve as a clearinghouse for collecting these concerns so a ``big picture'' view of the entire industry is available.

I am pleased that this legislation puts into Federal law the clear right of passengers to be treated with dignity while traveling. Reasonable treatment aboard aircraft should not just be a rule, it should be a legal right of passengers.

I look forward to working with Senator Boxer on other vital transportation issues that affect our rail lines, ports, and highways, and the entire Nation. With the reauthorization of many of our transportation programs this year, I am confident that improving the movement of passengers and freight will remain a congressional priority.

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