The skies are looking brighter for air passengers after two pieces of legislation were passed recently. In one piece, the Federal Department of Transportation adopted rules, officially called "Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections," which will go into effect on April 29, 2010. In the other, the Senate passed a bill designed to speed and fund the implementation of NextGen, which will update the nation's air traffic control system from radar to digital technology.
This article in Crain's New York Business notes that air traffic delays are likely to decline with NextGen because communication will be more efficient and accurate and planes can be spaced closer together.
As this NY Times article explains, new passenger protection rules include fines for airlines that keep passengers stranded on the tarmac for three hours or more, a requirement for airlines to disclose the on-time record for each flight, regulatory penalties for airlines that continue to operate flights that are often delayed, and a requirement for airlines to come up with a plan to deal with tarmac delays.
Although this could lead to an increase in canceled flights as airlines seek to avoid heavy fines, it signals a shift from grass-roots efforts to hold airlines accountable for delays to government initiated passenger protections.
@BetterAirports