Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections Rule

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a sweeping Final Rule on enhancing airline passenger protections. The rule will be formally published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 25, 2011, and the requirements of the rule will go into effect 120 days thereafter (i.e., on or about August 23, 2011), with the exception of amendments to DOT's full fare advertising rule (14 CFR § 399.84), which will go into effect 180 days thereafter (i.e., on or about October 22, 2011). The pre-publication version of the rule is 213 pages long, so it is not attached, but we would be happy to send you an electronic copy if you would like to receive it.

Under the Final Rule, the following new requirements are among those that are relevant to foreign air carriers. Unless otherwise noted, these rules apply to foreign air carriers that provide scheduled passenger service (including, in some cases, code-sharing service) or public charter service to or from the United