Target: Sean Duffy, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Goal: Do not strip away rights granted to airline consumers.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation – along with Congress – created a broad new spectrum of benefits for airline passengers in what was touted as “the biggest expansion of passenger rights in the department’s history.” Under new department leadership, however, those pledges have taken a backseat. Instead of prioritizing consumers, airports are being pressured to prioritize politics via a partisan video blaming one party for the government shutdown. This video is being played in airports in place of routine welcome or passenger safety videos. And airline industry special interests have successfully lobbied the current administration to reconsider or roll back many of the enacted consumer protection policies.
For one, passengers may no longer be guaranteed prompt refunds or other compensation for flights delayed or canceled because of airline carrier issues. And the guarantees consumers were promised for up-front viewing of all charges and fees may soon be no more as well, meaning more unpleasant surprises when payment time arrives. And perhaps most troubling of all are the many dropped investigations and regulations relating to airline misconduct, which could potentially put passengers in harm’s way.
Sign the petition below to demand this department stop weakening one of the country’s most popular and prolific forms of transportation.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Duffy,
A series of high-profile incidents in recent months have shaken consumers’ confidence in air travel. The troubling rollbacks the Department of Transportation and its partners have enacted that undermine airline safety and that remove consumer financial protections already put in place are doing nothing to restore this confidence. Consumers deserve to have the assurance that they can travel in a financially transparent manner and that when problems do arise, they will be duly compensated.
More importantly, consumers should have faith that the Department of Transportation will look out for them and their safety and interests over the interests of powerful lobbies. Please preserve all recommended passenger protections and the regulatory and legal framework essential for their success.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Connor Danylenko
