Hassan sponsors passengers' rights bill

Hassan co-sponsoring bill that would prohibit airlines from involuntarily removing passengers who have boarded. The bill, titled Transparency, Improvements, and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe (TICKETS), would also eliminate a federal cap on the compensation that can be offered to passengers asked to give up their seats on overbooked flights.

Additional provisions include a requirement that airlines publicly post their procedures for boarding or denying access to a flight, and an order that the Secretary of Transportation investigate whether a cap should be set on the number of tickets that can be over-sold for a flight.

TICKETS is one of several pieces of proposed legislation that followed in the wake of a highly publicized incident on a United Airlines flight, where passenger David Dao was forcibly dragged from the plane, sustaining injuries, after he refused to give up his seat to United crew members flying to their next gig.

Videos of the event were disseminated on social media, racking up millions of views.

“The horrifying incident on United Flight 3411 made clear that we need stronger consumer protections for the flying public,” Hassan said. “This common-sense legislation will help prevent incidents like that from happening again and help ensure that travelers are treated with greater fairness and respect by the airlines industry.”

Opponents of the bill argue that there is no need for government intervention, as the market will ensure that airlines either change their policies or lose business. They point to announcement by several airlines that they have already updated their policies for overbooking and bumping passengers. Others express concerns that TICKETS could inadvertently tie the hands of airline employees who need to remove passengers for safety reasons.