MAJOR AIRLINES REQUEST PART 234 RULEMAKING
November 11, 2024
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On October 18, 2024, Airlines for America (“A4A”) petitioned DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (“BTS”) to immediately undertake rulemaking to revise 14 C.F.R. Part 234 (“Part 234”). Following the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (“FAA Act”), BTS was tasked with creating a new “cause of delay” and cancellation category that tracks information on air carrier cancellations and delays caused by instructions from FAA’s Air Traffic Control System (“ATC”). To ensure that information provided to BTS presents an accurate representation of airline operations, A4A seeks revisions to on-time performance reporting regulations requiring certain carriers to submit monthly reports detailing on-time performance, delays, cancellations, and their causes. Given that the existing framework fails to capture delays and cancellations caused by FAA ATC instructions, A4A requests expediated consideration to modernize reporting requirements. Doing so will bring greater transparency to air carrier operations and provide consumers with reliable information on the causes of airline disruptions. DOT also stands to benefit from Part 234 revisions since “aviation policies and rulemaking based on faulty and inaccurate data are likely to be ineffective because they are not grounded in the actual and operational conditions or issues that they aim to address.” Regulators, air carriers, and passengers would gain from accurate Part 234 reporting to make informed decisions and well-reasoned policy.
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