Holiday travel doesn’t have to suck.

How Congress can prevent another flightmare.

Katie Porter

Dec 13

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Remember the travel nightmare that was last December…

With more than 17,000 canceled Southwest flights, Americans across the country were stranded, often left without refunds or rebooking options. It was a mess. And Congress still has the responsibility to do something about it.

I’ve introduced several bills to protect travelers:

Choices for Stranded Passengers Act: In cases of preventable delays or cancellations, this would require airlines to fully refund or promptly rebook passengers on a new flight, even if the airline must purchase a ticket on another carrier.
Stop Airplane Seat Shrinking Act: Airlines continue to shrink seats while the FAA fails to act to enforce their own 2018 rule about this.
Flightmare Prevention Act: Airlines like Southwest have relied on antiquated technology from the 1990s to schedule flights and staff. This bill requires the FAA to regulate airlines’ tech systems to avoid future flightmares!

Earlier this year, there was a push to get these bills signed into law. But Republicans—beholden to the corporations who fund their campaigns—have resisted. Following a Senate hearing with Southwest Airlines executives, Ted Cruz said, “Instead of rushing to regulate prices and how many drink coupons you can get, the Biden Department of Transportation should instead let the flying public vote with their feet…I’ve had multiple conversations with senior leadership at Southwest, and I’m confident they understand it was an epic screw-up and that they are committed to doing everything possible to prevent its recurrence.”

That quote is a load of BS. Congress’ job is to serve the American people and hold power to account. And the airline industry is a great example of why we need both market competition and effective government oversight. As airlines have merged and acquired one another, passengers pay more and get subpar service and workers end up with worse pay and benefit options. I’ve expressed much concern about the proposed Frontier and Spirit Airlines merger for this exact reason.

I’ll keep pushing for better protections for travelers. And as someone who flies almost weekly for my job, I’m extremely happy to stay put in Orange County over the holidays.

Happy travels!

Katie

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