I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 700
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide enhanced protections
for airline passengers.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 10, 1999
Mr. SHUSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide enhanced
protections for airline passengers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airline Passenger Bill
of Rights Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. AIRLINE PASSENGER PROTECTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘§ 41716. Air carrier passenger protection
‘‘(a) USE OF SINGLE FLIGHT NUMBER.—No air car-
rier may use a single flight number to denote a flight that
the air carrier knows will involve a change in aircraft be-
tween segments of the flight.
‘‘(b) DELAY, CANCELLATION, OR DIVERSION.—
‘‘(1) EXPLANATION REQUIRED.—An announce-
ment by an air carrier of (A) a delay or cancellation
of a flight, or (B) a diversion of a flight to an air-
port other than the airport at which the flight is
scheduled to land, shall include an explanation of the
reason or reasons for the delay, cancellation, or di-
version.
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON FALSE OR MISLEADING
EXPLANATIONS.—No air carrier shall provide an ex-
planation under paragraph (1) that the air carrier
knows or has reason to know is false or misleading.
‘‘(c) 
EXCESSIVE
DEPARTURE
AND
ARRIVAL
DELAY.—
‘‘(1) LIABILITY IMPOSED.—An air carrier shall
be liable to each passenger on an aircraft for an ex-
cessive departure or arrival delay of the aircraft.
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF LIABILITY.—
‘‘(A) DELAYS OF MORE THAN 2 BUT LESS
THAN 3 HOURS.—If the excessive departure or
arrival delay is more than 2 but less than 3
hours, the amount of liability under paragraph
(1) shall be 200 percent of the price paid by the
passenger for transportation by the air carrier.
‘‘(B) DELAYS OF 3 HOURS OR MORE.—If
the excessive departure or arrival delay is 3
hours or more, the amount of liability under
paragraph (1) shall be—
‘‘(i) the amount determined under
subparagraph (A), plus
‘‘(ii) an additional 100 percent of the
price paid by the passenger for such trans-
portation multiplied by the number of
hours (or portion thereof) that such period
exceeds 3 hours.
‘‘(3) EXCESSIVE
DEPARTURE
OR
ARRIVAL
DELAY.—In paragraph (1), the term ‘excessive de-
parture or arrival delay’ means a period of time in
excess of 2 hours—
‘‘(A) in the case of departure delay, begin-
ning when the door of an aircraft is closed at
an airport and ending when the aircraft takes
off from the airport or when the door of the air-
craft is open for deplaning of passengers at the
airport; and
‘‘(B) in the case of arrival delay, beginning
upon touchdown of an aircraft at an airport
and ending when the door of the aircraft is
open for deplaning of passengers at the airport.
‘‘(4) DEPARTURE
DELAYS
CAUSED
BY
AIR
TRAFFIC
CONTROL
DIRECTIVES.—Notwithstanding
paragraph (3), a departure delay in excess of 2
hours shall not be treated as an excessive departure
delay for purposes of paragraph (1) if the Adminis-
trator of the Federal Aviation Administration deter-
mines that the departure delay was the result of an
air traffic control directive and that the carrier did
not receive notification that it would receive such di-
rective prior to the scheduled departure time of the
flight.
‘‘(d) ECONOMIC CANCELLATIONS.—
‘‘(1) NONSAFETY CANCELLATIONS.—If, on the
date a flight of an air carrier is scheduled, the car-
rier cancels the flight for reasons other than safety,
the carrier shall provide to each passenger that has
purchased air transportation on the flight—
‘‘(A) air transportation in a timely manner
to the destination for which such passenger
purchased the air transportation; and