ACI-NA 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036 202-293-8500

Statement of Deborah C. McElroy

Executive Vice President, Policy and External Affairs

Airports Council International–North America

To

Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Committee

June 28, 2012

Airports Council International-North America represents local, regional and state governing 

bodies that own and operate commercial service airports in the United States and Canada. Our 

345 member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the U.S. domestic and virtually all of the 

international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. 

Airports are the “public face of aviation” in hundreds of communities throughout the United 

States, working with airlines and other service providers to meet passenger needs and provide 

a pleasant travel experience. We believe that it is critical that the Advisory Committee consider 

the airport perspective and I very much appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. 

It’s true that many of the issues being studied by this Committee are the responsibility of parties 

other than the airports. However, a recent ACI-NA nationwide poll showed us that traveler 

knowledge about “who does what” at airports is quite limited. For example, we found that 20 

percent of consumers believed that airports were responsible for delayed or cancelled flights. 

Almost a third blame airports for problems with lost or mishandled bags and almost half believe 

that airports are responsible for planes being stuck on the tarmac awaiting departure or arrival 

at the gate. 

Because the image of airports is intrinsically linked to whether or not we’re meeting passenger

needs, we have a critical stake in resolving shortcomings throughout the air travel experience. 

We also understand that passengers expect airports to help resolve their problems because 

airports are part of their community, working not only to bring price and service competition, but 

also to improve the travel experience. 

It is important to understand that failure to meet consumers’ needs often has root causes that 

also have a significant impact on airport operations and facilities. Whether the problem involves 

providing timely and accurate information, on-time departure or arrival performance, baggage 

handling or resolving extended tarmac delays, Improvements to any or all of these areas would 

help airports more effectively serve passengers, airlines and cargo services. 

Enhancing the passenger experience and meeting consumer needs also ensures that airports 

can continue to generate jobs and economic development in their communities.The unfortunate 

fact is that passengers often associate a negative travel experience with the airport at which the 

instance occurred, regardless of the reason for the problem. If passengers lose confidence in 

the operations at an airport because of failures in customer service, they may fly out of another 

airport in the future or use a competing mode of transportation. This impacts the finances of 

individual airports, the airport industry as a whole and the local economy in hundreds of 
ACI-NA 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036 202-293-8500

communities throughout the United States. ACI-NA’s February 2012 study found that America’s 

commercial airports are a powerful economic engine, generating 10.5 million jobs and $1.2 

trillion in total economic impact in 2010. Airports are responsible for about 8 percent of U.S. 

gross domestic product and an estimated 7 percent of jobs. 

Over the last four years ACI-NA has been very active in responding to DOT regulatory 

proposals on behalf of airports and we appreciate the Department’s consideration of our 

comments. Whether the proposal involved compensation for oversold flights and denied 

boarding, chronically-delayed flights, airline customer service plans, flight status changes, delay 

data, reporting of mishandled bags or emergency contingency plans, ACI-NA has consistently 

advocated that the Department ensure that passengers have relevant, accurate and timely 

information to assist in making more informed travel decisions. 

ACI-NA also has not only been active in working with the FAA and DOT but also with the U.S. 

Access Board in improving the access for passengers with disabilities to the national air 

transportation system. Airport operators want to ensure that the needs of passengers with 

disabilities are accommodated, regardless of who might be responsible for providing the actual 

service to the passengers. We have been a leader in working with airlines and organizations 

representing passengers with disabilities. ACI-NA has also participated in public hearings and 

seminars by FAA, DOT, DOJ, DOL, EEOC, the U.S. Access Board, and the National Council on 

Disability and has provided extensive training and information to our airport members regarding 

the accommodation of passengers with disabilities. We have also provided the airport 

perspective on numerous regulation proposals from federal agencies regarding individuals with 

disabilities. 

ACI-NA is very pleased that DOT and other federal agencies have adopted many of our 

suggestions in developing final rules over the last four years. We were particularly pleased in 

2011 when DOT expanded the tarmac delay regulations to cover small and non-hub airports 

and required domestic and international airlines to coordinate their plans with each U.S. large, 

medium, small, and non-hub hub airport served, as well as diversion airports. ACI-NA had long 

argued that it was critical to protect passengers at more than 300 smaller airports in the United 

States as the impact of tarmac delays at these facilities often is even more pronounced than at 

larger facilities.

Even with these regulatory enhancements, much work remains to be done. As last year’s early 

winter storm in the Northeast showed, there must be better coordination before and during 

severe weather events or other flight disruptions. Further, airports must be empowered to tell 

FAA and airlines “no more flights” if the facility cannot accommodate the aircraft or respond to 

airline requests for help in a reasonable time. FAA and airlines also must provide airports with 

accurate information about diverted flights and other diversion airports to prevent overloading 

any single diversion airport.

Effective means of communicating information about rapidly changing airport conditions and 

flight status—including diversion information in real-time among all operational stakeholders—

airports, airlines, the FAA Air Traffic Organization, TSA and CBP—is a critical component of 

enhancing the passenger experience and minimizing passenger inconvenience during severe 

weather and other mass diversion events. We are heartened by the actions of airport operators 

to implement surface management solutions, which are improving airports’ and airlines’ 

situational awareness in good weather and bad. We have also been impressed by the private 

sector’s development of tools—some of which have been provided free of charge—to share key 

operational information in real-time throughout the NAS. We encourage the FAA to follow these 

examples and provide mechanisms for airports and the airlines to have better situational 
ACI-NA 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036 202-293-8500

awareness and make better operational decisions before and during diversion events for the 

benefit of passengers.

In closing, we would ask this Committee to recommend that DOT take action to provide all 

consumers the same level of protection. ACI-NA believes it is long overdue for DOT to expand 

delay and mishandled baggage reporting, as well as provisions related to oversales and denied 

boarding compensation to all commercial airlines, not just those “covered carrier” that account 

for at least one percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue. To the passenger, the 

effects of delays, baggage mishandling or denied boarding are the same no matter which airline 

actually operates the aircraft or the size of the airplane. Additionally, given the fact that regional 

airlines now transport one out of every four domestic passengers and operate half of daily 

domestic flights, as well as provide the only scheduled service to approximately 70 percent of

U.S. airports, it is critical that DOT include their operations in consumer protection regulations

as well. There is no justification for providing consumer protections only to those traveling on the 

nation’s largest airlines. All passengers deserve the customer service, passenger protections

and legal rights afforded by DOT regulations. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to present the U.S. airport industry perspective. I look 

forward to answering your questions.