December 21, 2007
A federal judge dismissed an airline industry lawsuit that sought to block a state law, which would ensure basic services are provided to delayed passengers, the New York State attorney general said on Thursday.
Judge Lawrence Kahn, sitting in the US Court for the Northern District of New York in Albany, dismissed the Air Transport Association of America’s lawsuit, which attempted to block New York’s new Passenger Bill of Rights law, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
New York is the first US state with a law for passenger rights, Cuomo’s office said.
The association said its reason for filing the suit was “to preserve the principle that commercial aviation is best regulated by one source — the federal government — and not 50 individual states.”
The ATA said it was considering its options, including an appeal.
The law, set to go into effect on January 1, requires airlines to provide passengers who are confined on a grounded airliner for more than three hours with basic necessities such as clean bathrooms, drinking water and fresh air, Cuomo’s office said.
(Reuters)