Second Circuit Shuts down New York's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has struck down New York State’s highly touted Airline “Passenger Bill of Rights” law, thwarting efforts by New York and several other states to improve how airlines treat their customers during tedious and interminable flight delays. The New York state law was the strongest effort yet to improve the plight of the nation’s harried airline customers, who have faced record delays in U.S. airports over the last two years, often having to wait hours in cramped terminals or on the plane itself before their flights finally take off or are cancelled. However, the Second Circuit ruled on March 25 that only the federal government has the power to regulate service standards on the nation’s air carriers, and that any state legislation attempting to address the problem is null and void. The decision has produced relief for the airline companies and their lobbying group, the Air Transport Association of America, but has sparked anger among consumer rights activists and legislators in