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(The Department of Transportation and the group of American airlines companies did not comment immediately)
by David Shepardson
Democratic Senator Ed Markey urged the US Department of Transportation on Friday to finalize rules banning airlines from charging fees to seat families with young children together on a flight if adjacent seats are available at booking.
Under former President Joe Biden, the DOT proposed rules in August 2024 after Congress instructed the agency to draft regulations. Markey asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to take action.
“For over 18 months, the Department of Transportation has taken no action to finalize this rule,” wrote Markey, noting that the proposal was supported in Congress by the then-Senator JD Vance, now vice president. “Airlines should never be allowed to force parents to choose between paying more and being separated from their children.”
A spokesperson for Sean Duffy did not immediately comment. Many major airlines have committed to providing seating for families at no additional cost.
All other major domestic airlines have policies aimed at grouping families together, but do not guarantee it, the Department of Transportation previously stated.
Airlines for America, representing American Airlines
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, Delta Air Lines
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, United Airlines
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,
Southwest Airlines
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and others, did not immediately comment.
The 2024 proposal would ban airlines from charging fees to assign seats to children so they can sit next to their parents on flights within the United States. When adjacent seats are not available for multiple young children, airlines would be required to place them on the other side of the aisle, in front, or behind a parent.
The Department of Transportation would require refunds or free reservation changes when adjacent seats for families are not available if passengers choose not to take that flight. Airlines could face civil penalties for non-compliance.
Markey cited several other actions taken by the DOT to roll back Biden’s consumer protection rules in the aviation sector.
In January, the DOT announced it would revise its guidelines to reduce the emphasis on imposing civil fines on airlines that violate consumer protection rules and abandon Biden-era policies that strengthened law enforcement.
In December, the DOT took steps to revoke some sanctions imposed on airlines under the Biden administration, including cancelling the remaining $11 million of a fine levied against Southwest as part of a $140 million settlement regarding operational issues that stranded over 2 million passengers in 2022.
In November, the DOT withdrew a proposal issued under Biden that aimed to require airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers when carriers are responsible for flight disruptions in the United States.
