Aircraft
DOT Releases Final Rule on Airline Passenger Protections
The U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced new airline passenger protections that will extend the ban on ramp delays to international flights and, crucially for regional airlines, require carriers to coordinate so-called ramp delay contingency plans with small and non-hub airports.

The rule also requires all airlines operating airplanes certified to carry 30 or more passengers to report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports with the DOT, including data for international flights and charter flights. The previous rule required only the 16 largest U.S. passenger carriers to file the data, and only for domestic scheduled flights. It also did not cover international carriers and limited the contingency plan requirements to large- and medium-hub airports and diversion airports.