New York – Senate Approves Airline Passengers Bill of Rights

New York – The State Senate has unanimously approved legislation that would require airlines stuck on the ground for more than three hours because of poor weather conditions or other types of delays to provide passengers with snacks, water, fresh air and power.

The bill, which was approved 60 to 0, would also create an Office of Airline Consumer Advocate within the New York State Consumer Protection Board to allow passengers to more easily file complaints against airlines.
The measure, sponsored by State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick), comes in the wake of several incidents at Kennedy and other airports where passengers were trapped aboard grounded airplanes for as many as ten hours without sufficient food, water or toilets.

One of the best-known such incident involved JetBlue Airways Corp. of Forest Hills, which left some 130,000 passengers stranded — many aboard airplanes sitting on the tarmac — during a snow and ice storm Valentine’s Day. [Newsday]