Domestic flights are prohibited from remaining on the tarmac for more than three hours and by the second hour passengers are to have access to food, water, clean lavatories, and medical assistance if needed. Exceptions can be granted if there is a safety-related or security-related issue or FAA Air Traffic Control advises that returning to the gate or permitting passengers to disembark elsewhere would significantly disrupt airport operations. The airlines are required to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and publish the plan on their websites.

• Airlines are required to designate an employee to monitor delays and to have input on decisions regarding flight cancellations. Carriers will also be required to provide passengers information on how to file complaints on its website and on all e-ticket confirmations. Airlines must respond to complaints within 60 days.
• Chronically delayed flights are defined.  A chronically delayed flight is operated by an airline that is carrying 1 percent or more of all domestic passengers, that is flown at least 10 times in a month, and that arrives more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time. If the flight continues to be chronically delayed for four consecutive months, DOT may take enforcement action and impose monetary penalties.
• While the airlines are currently required to report on-time performance data to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, they will now be required to post on their websites delay information for each flight operated and for each flight its U.S. codeshare partners operate.

Airlines must adopt, publish and audit a customer service plan on their website and audit the plan annually. 

As 2009 winds down, the U.S. Senate's health care slug fest continues to heat up.  And given all the grousing on both sides of the aisle, it is clear the Grinch won't have time to steal Christmas this year as he's too busy lurking about the Senate Chamber.  The Senate's been busy, too, so busy in fact that they are on track to tie or break the record, set at the beginning of World War I for most consecutive days in session.  And they haven't been working your average 9 to 5 work day.

Saturday at 1 a.m., in the early hours of what became the biggest December snow storm on record in D.C., the Senate took a procedural vote on the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations bill.  Six hours later they came back to pass the bill as snow fell fast and furious, at times nearly obscuring the Capitol from view.    

And it turned out to be a good thing that the Senate bill clerks got in a little practice last week reading aloud – three hours' worth of Senator Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 700 plus page single payer amendment.  It served them well this weekend when they spent more than seven hours reading the entire 383-page health care amendment offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Monday, just after 1 a.m., the Senate voted 60 to 40 to invoke cloture on the Reid amendment, which contains all the changes made/deals arranged to get 60 votes on final passage of the health care bill.  This vote set the Senate on track for 90 more hours of debate and three more votes – with final passage slated for 7 p.m. Christmas Eve, unless the procedural games are halted.

Of course, Senate passage of a health care reform package doesn't put the issue to bed.  A joint House-Senate conference committee will need to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill.  Once an agreement is reached by the conferees, it will be sent back to both chambers for a final vote.  So the health care debate will continue to be the focus for Congress as we move into the early months of 2010.

On Dec. 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent letters to the airline trade associations indicating that it plans to announce that as of Jan. 20, it will be mandatory for Visa Waiver Program passengers to have an Electronic System for Travel Authorization, in order to board aircraft bound for the United States. Passengers without this authorization may be denied boarding. CBP plans to work with the Departments of Commerce and State to aggressively inform potential travelers of the requirement through various means such as ad placements.

The electronic authorizations were mandated by the 9/11 Act. As of Jan. 12, 2009, these visa waiver passengers were required biographical and eligibility information so CBP can determine if the applicant is eligible to travel under the program or is a law enforcement or security risk.  The electronic authorization is valid for two years unless the passenger obtains new travel documents.

CBP is running a pilot with Air New Zealand on flights to Los Angeles International Airport where CBP is using the information to complete I-94 paper forms.  CBP has found the pilot to be very successful.  Shortly after the Jan. 20 deadline, CBP plans to move toward eliminating the I-94W paper form -- a move ACI-NA supports in light of the other information CBP receives on passengers.

The program includes 35 countries including many European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore.  Canadian citizens and legal residents are not VWP passengers and are not subject to ESTA. Passengers who require visas to enter the United States already undergo more extensive procedures including interviews, thus this electronic authorization program does not apply to them.

On Dec. 18, the agreement between Canada and the European Union, which was reached in late 2008, was signed, bringing the agreement into effect.  With the signed agreement, any number of Canadian and EU airlines will be permitted to operate between any point in Canada and any point in the EU without restriction on price, capacity or the number of flights. In addition, the airlines of both sides will enjoy full fifth freedom rights for all-cargo services. (For example, Air Canada would be able to carry cargo originating in London destined for Dubai on its flights from Canada.)  However, similar fifth freedom rights for passenger services are limited.

Canada is moving to allow up to 49 percent foreign ownership of Canadian airlines, but an additional step is necessary to implement the change from the current 25 percent cap.  Once the ownership change is implemented, additional fifth freedom traffic rights for passenger services will be available as well as full seventh freedom traffic rights for all-cargo services (Air Canada could carry cargo originating in London destined for Dubai without any requirement to serve a point in Canada). 

"As we move through the steps toward a full Open Skies Agreement, this new air agreement will set an example for carrier access, safety, security and passenger mobility," said Jim Facette, president of Canadian Airports Council. 

ACI Online Learning Centre is running a year-end holiday sale on its training programs that are open to both airports and individual airport employees. Those enrolling in a course by Dec. 31 will receive a 25 percent discount on the fee. The course modules can be accessed any number of times over a 12-month period from the enrolment date. The ACI Online Learning Centre offers over 50 self-paced online training modules in areas including:

• Safety Management Systems
• Security Screening
• Concession Management
• Project Management
• Leadership and Management
• Human Resources
• Personal Development

In the pending review of the joint marketing agreement of American Airlines with four foreign airlines, including British Airways, the U.S. Justice Department recommends that conditions be imposed on the airlines because the pact may cause airfare to increase as much as 15 percent.

In a filing with the Transportation Department, the carriers are seeking a grant of antitrust immunity for their marketing alliance.

In its review, which was filed Dec. 21, Justice found the agreement could lead to price increases of up to 15 percent at six city-pairs due to a decrease in competitors:  Boston-London, Chicago-London, Dallas-London, Miami-London, Miami-Madrid and New York-London.

While Justice recommends that the Transportation Department impose conditions as a price for U.S. government approval, the Justice Department did not specify what the conditions should be.

The docket had been closed to comments on May 28. As a result of the late Justice filing, the docket will be open until Jan. 11 for response filings.

Following a Dec. 16 conference held in the case of the airlines contesting a new rent formula at Los Angeles International Airport, the Transportation Department has set Jan. 18 as the new deadline for all comments on its procedures it will use to settle still unresolved issues.

Both ACI-NA and the Air Transport Association, who have been involved on opposite sides in the case, also have until Jan. 18 to file initial comments and until Jan. 28 to file replies to those submissions.