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After over a million flight delays, CT senator introduces airline passenger protections

Ahead of the winter storm in which Southwest canceled more than 16,000 flights, Tina Romeo and Chris St. John check their luggage at Bradley International Airport December 22, 2022.
Ryan Caron King
/
Connecticut Public
Ahead of the winter storm in which Southwest Airlines canceled more than 16,000 flights, Tina Romeo and Chris St. John check their luggage at Bradley International Airport on Dec. 22, 2022.

After a holiday season involving thousands of canceled flights, missed holidays and additional fees, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) reintroduced airline passenger protection legislation this week.

The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that through October of 2022, major airlines canceled over 144,000 flights and delayed more than 1.1 million flights — totaling 76 million minutes of delay.

The Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights and FAIR Fees Act would put in place consumer protection for flyers, including setting standards for passenger compensation and recourse in the event of airline-caused flight delays and cancellations.

Blumenthal says this legislation is necessary, and he would like the support of his Republican colleagues.

“It has never been more uncomfortable and unpredictable, or more stressful, to travel by air,” says Blumenthal. “And that’s why the airlines need to be given some incentives to do the right thing and consumers need protection.”

Blumenthal says the passenger bill of rights is not only supported by consumers, but also by airline employees. He says they are as much victims of the airlines’ bad management as the passengers. He adds, “What Southwest did was airline malpractice that inflicted harm on its own employees as well as consumers.”

Both senators hope to see these two bills pass by the end of this year.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.