(Bloomberg) -- A US appeals court granted the airline industry’s request to temporarily block new regulations from the Department of Transportation mandating up-front disclosure of certain fees, giving the carriers an early win in their litigation with the agency.
A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said in a filing Monday that it granted the airlines’ request to stay the rule, pending a full review, finding it “likely exceeds DOT’s authority and will irreparably harm airlines.” The court also agreed to expedite the petition for review.
The final rules, unveiled in April, require carriers and ticket agents to clearly communicate their extra charges up front for checked luggage and carry-on bags, and for canceling or changing reservations. The court’s decision to temporarily halt the regulations is a blow to DOT, which has said the requirements would save fliers more than half a billion dollars a year by helping them avoid surprise fees.
Industry trade group Airlines for America and several major carriers, including American Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., United Airlines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp., sued DOT over the regulations, saying the department overstepped its legal authority in issuing the new requirements.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement Monday that it will continuing defending its rule. “Nothing in the court’s decision prevents airlines from voluntarily complying with this common sense rule that simply requires them to keep their customers fully informed when buying a plane ticket,” DOT said.
Airlines for America declined to comment further on the ruling.
The court said in the filing that the airlines provided “ample evidence detailing the irreparable harm they will suffer absent a stay,” including the significant resources they’d have to spend to reengineer their websites.
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