House OKs seat relief for airplane passengers
Sponsors cite safety risk of overstuffed planes
The House voted Wednesday to direct the federal government to set a minimum size for airline seats, bar passengers from being kicked off overbooked planes, and consider whether to restrict animals on planes.
Those and other passenger-related provisions were included in a bill to authorize Federal Aviation Administration programs for five years. The House approved the measure by a 39823 vote, sending it to the Senate, which faces a Sunday deadline.
The FAA bill is also notable for what is not included.
Lawmakers abandoned a plan backed by airlines to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system. And congressional negotiators dropped a proposal to crack down on “unreasonable” airline fees.
The bill includes several provisions backed by consumer groups. Among them:
It gives the FAA one year to set minimum measurements for airline seats and the distance between rows. Provision sponsors said cramped planes are a safety issue during emergencies such as fires.
“People are getting larger, the seats are getting smaller, and it’s just obvious that you can’t evacuate the planes in the requisite time,” Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said in an interview.
It bars airlines from removing a passenger from overbooked flights once the passenger has boarded the plane. The issue gained attention after airport officers dragged a 69-yearold man off a United Express plane last year to make room for an airline employee. Airlines could still bump people before boarding begins.
Directs the Transportation Department to set rules for service and emotional-support animals on planes including “reasonable measures to ensure pets are not claimed as service animals.” Airlines have taken modest steps to crack down on support animals, which they say are surging in numbers and leading to incidents of biting and defecating on planes.
Prohibits putting a live animal in an overhead bin. A French bulldog puppy died in the overhead bin of a United Airlines plane in March.
When a computer outage causes widespread delays and cancellations, the airline must say on its website whether it will help stranded customers with hotel rooms, meals, or seats on another carrier.
Bars passengers from making cellphone calls during airline flights.
Creates a committee to advise the FAA on how to prevent consumers from being hit with huge and unexpected bills from air ambulance companies.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Penn., backed away from a plan to shift control of the nation’s air traffic control system from the FAA to a private corporation. Shuster acknowledged that he didn’t have the votes to pass the airline-backed provision.