DOT AMENDS PROCEDURES FOR NEW AVIATION CONSUMER RULEMAKING
February 7, 2022
On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) announced a change to its procedural rules governing new rulemaking for U.S. aviation consumer protections. By virtue of its rule, “Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices”, issued on December 7, 2020, DOT under the Trump administration created a procedure that would let the public ask DOT for an evidentiary hearing to explore complex issues at stake in any future rulemaking (e.g., extent of consumer harms, costs, and benefits, etc.) if the Department proposed a new aviation consumer protection standard. This month’s amended procedures by the Biden administration’s DOT preserves this process, but raises the requirement for stakeholders to successfully request a hearing. Accordingly, the Department will now have a greater ability to prevent aviation consumer rulemakings from being delayed by speeding up the hearing procedures it uses. The move comes as part of a broader push by the Biden administration’s DOT to intensify enforcement of existing aviation consumer protection standards and to press for new protections for U.S. air consumers. For example, the forthcoming amendments to rules governing ticket refunds in the case of public health measure-related flight delays and cancellations are expected to be published by DOT later in 2022.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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