AIRLINES FOR AMERICA AND IATA SUPPORT DEREGULATORY AGENDA
June 2, 2025
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On May 5, 2025, Airlines for America (“A4A”) and the International Air Transport Association (“IATA”), among other industry participants, submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (“DOT” or the “Department”) Request for Information (“RFI”) titled Ensuring Lawful Regulation; Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs. A4A and IATA raised concerns that recent DOT regulations have strayed from the pro-competitive benefits of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (the “ADA”). Arguing that regulatory overreach hinders competition and innovation in the aviation industry, commenters recommended that Secretary Duffy proceed with broad deregulatory action to correct the missteps of prior administrations. For example, A4A and IATA suggested that DOT should eliminate requirements which are unmoored from the modern era such as the requirement to maintain a physical copy of 14 C.F.R. Part 382 at each U.S. airport to which a carrier operates. IATA also requested that the Department eliminate the requirement for carriers to first obtain a statement of authorization before selling codeshare services because such proves unnecessary when codeshare services are expressly permitted by most bilateral air service agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries. The Department’s pending Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) requiring airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when a disruption is airline-caused also faced considerable opposition such that commenters advocated for its swift termination. In addition to IATA and A4A, more than 950 comments were received from other interested parties. Of note, several commenters requested the elimination of all codeshare flight disclosure requirements for ticket agents because such requirements are outdated and unnecessary in the modern economy. The Department must now adjudicate hundreds of industry recommendations to determine how best to implement President Trump’s deregulatory agenda to ensure robust competition and innovation for decades to come. If the Department proceeds with broad deregulation as expected, carriers could experience reduced disclosure and reporting requirements among other welcomed changes.
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