PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is leading a multi-state coalition in asking Congress to allow attorneys general to enforce state and federal consumer protections for airline travelers. This request comes after attorneys general received thousands of complaints from outraged passengers, claiming airlines have failed in their service responsibilities, causing significant frustrations and unnecessary challenges.
"Customer service in the airline industry began a sharp descent a couple of years ago, and it has yet to pull up," said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "People spend a lot of their hard-earned money flying to visit family or going on vacations, but the airlines are more concerned about profit than serving their customers."
Federal law currently places the central responsibility for addressing violations of airline consumer protection with the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT), but the agency has not kept up with the escalating issues. State attorneys general have little to no authority in holding airline companies accountable for unacceptable behavior towards consumers.
General Brnovich's letter urges Congress to pass legislation that would authorize state attorneys general to enforce both state and federal consumer protection laws governing the airline industry. Brnovich also encourages Congress to consider shifting the authority for federal investigations of airline patron complaints from the US DOT to an agency more primarily focused on consumer protection, such as the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission.
Joining General Brnovich are the attorneys general of Colorado, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
General Brnovich has a history of standing up for frustrated travelers. In 2020, he urged Congress to adopt new consumer protections for airline customers.
Read a copy of the letter here.