Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

U.S. expands air passenger rights

|
|
 
  
Published: Aug. 23, 2011 at 11:22 PM

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- New airline passenger protections were put into effect nationwide Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.

The customer protections include refunded baggage fees if bags are lost, larger compensation for passengers bumped from overbooked flight and expanded protections from long runway delays.

"The Obama Administration believes consumers have the right to be treated fairly when they fly," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a release. "The Department of Transportation's new passenger protections will help ensure that air travelers receive the respect they deserve before, during and after their flight."

All airlines must comply with the protections, which include requiring airline Web sites to disclose all optional fees, such as baggage fees. Runway delays have been limited to 3 hours for domestic and 4 hours for international flights, the release said.

Additional protections will take effect in January 2012, including a requirement that all taxes and fees be included in advertised fares and a ban on increasing a price after a purchase has been completed.

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Father's Day: Celebrity dads The 2012 Miss USA competition Faces of the 2012 French Open
2012 MTV Movie Awards Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Notable deaths of 2012
Additional U.S. News Stories
1 of 20
Lil Niqo arrives at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California
View Caption
Rapper Lil Niqo arrives at the MTV Movie Awards at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on June 3, 2012. UPI/Jim Ruymen
fark
Police believe a mother strangled herself and her son to death, though not necessarily in that order...
Batshiat crazy former employee convinced Dollar Tree out to 'get him' - sets fire to store, destroying...
Some of the world's weirdest ice cream flavors. Come for the octopus and stay for the pink peppercorn...
Nearly half of Americans believe in Creationism, sex in the Champagne Room
Armed robbers break into video store and leave emptyhanded, proving once again that there just isn't...
Finally, a fantasy league for the entertainment tab that doesn't involve Christina Hendricks mudwrestling...