Ruling that it's not in their jurisdiction an appeals court rejected a New York state law that would have required airlines to provide food, clean toilets, water, and fresh air to passengers stranded on a plane that's been delayed. The NY law came in response to last winter's fiasco at JFK airport when multiple airlines, most notably JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) were stuck on the runway for 10 hours and passengers had no food, or clean toilets.
According to an AP report: "The court said that while the goals of the law were "laudable" and the circumstances prompting its adoption "deplorable," only the federal government has the authority to pass such regulations.
"If New York's view regarding the scope of its regulatory authority carried the day, another state could be free to enact a law prohibiting the service of soda on flights departing from its airports, while another could require allergen-free food options on its outbound flights, unraveling the centralized federal framework for air travel," the court wrote.
While clearly not popular, the court ruled correctly. This is a federal issue. While politicians will try and score points protesting the decision, if their constituents feel strongly about this issue they need to get on the phone and call their representatives in Washington and have them try and come up with legislation which would provide passengers with the much needed relief.
In the meantime, until Congress takes up the issue, make sure you buy some bottled water in the airport and take it with you. With summer approaching, you don't want to dehydrate waiting for your plane to take-off.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 3/25/08
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2008 @ 1:49PM
clem591 said...
on march 30 we will be under the OPEN SKY agreement after all it would be chaotic if each country could make their own laws
we have had our heads in the sand to have let this happen now we will have world courts in the mix
our airlines will be bought by foreign carriers at bargin prices, now the dollar has lost its value and the euro is the new world currency