After a preliminary finding an airline has broken the law, the case will get fast-tracked for priority review and enforcement in appropriate situations, USDOT said.
DENVER — U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new Airline Passenger Protection Partnership during a news conference at Denver International Airport Tuesday.
Buttigieg, who was joined by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weinstein, said the system will prioritize misconduct cases when unfair or deceptive airline practices are discovered. When a state’s attorney general makes a preliminary finding an airline has broken the law, it will get fast-tracked for priority review and enforcement in appropriate cases.
Attorneys general will be given access to the federal complaint database, and a formal mechanism will be created for them to report airlines to USDOT for failing to respond, in an effort to get airlines to cooperate with state investigations.
“This agreement and partnership with the DOT will allow my office to directly serve Colorado consumers when they file complaints about unfair or deceptive airline business practices and creates a process to ensure DOT prioritizes complaints we refer,” Wesier said.
So far, 18 state attorneys general representing the following states have signed Memoranda of Understanding that “will ensure that state attorneys general and the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection are closely collaborating on complaints involving unfair or deceptive practices by airlines,” the USDOT said:
California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, the United States Virgin Islands and Wisconsin.
In addition, seven attorneys general representing Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington have expressed an interest, the release said.
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