A federal appeals court in New York has thrown out a state law that attempted to establish a basic level of human comfort aboard airliners stranded for hours on the ground. You may recall the New York effort started after JetBlue left customers without enough food, water or clean toilets during a winter storm last year. That was a couple of months after American did the same thing in December 2006 in Austin, Tex. PHL passengers complained that they had been on US Airways flights stuck on the tarmac for hours one day last winter without common comforts. The court yesterday said New York's attempt to regulate in this area was trumped by federal law that governs airline service. Read more about that story here.
What the story doesn't mention: The U.S. District Court judge in Albany who had upheld the New York law based his ruling on the state's right to protect public health, a well-established legal principle. But unless the Supreme Court says otherwise, the appellate court's ruling now throws the issue back to Congress. Look for more coverage on this issue in coming weeks.
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