Washington, D.C. — In response to news that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a new rulemaking based on a recent Congressional directive to prohibit airlines from charging “seating fees” for families to sit together with children 13 years old and under, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“This proposed rule is fantastic news and a long time coming. Of all the many ways airlines have found to nickel-and-dime passengers with junk fees, the most heinous has been their refusal to waive seating fees for young kids to remain with their parents and caregivers,“ said William J. McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “This is truly the end of an era and the end of an error. After a decade of foot-dragging by air carriers, we’re grateful that DOT Secretary Buttigieg and Congress have firmly stated enough is enough.”

Prior to the launch of the DOT’s Family Seating Dashboard, none of the ten largest domestic airlines waived fees for kids 13 and under; now all will be required to do so. The practice created traumatic experiences for families and unfair burdens for surrounding passengers. Unattended children pose serious health threats due to Covid; safety threats during emergencies; and security threats in light of new FBI reports of inflight sexual assaults. In 2019 a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered 136 complaints to DOT over two years (2016-2018) concerning families separated inflight, including parents of children who were as young as 2 years old and some who were autistic or suffered seizures.

Bipartisan and bicameral members of Congress recently gave DOT the power to ban such fees in the FAA Reauthorization Act signed in May by the Biden-Harris Administration, after President Biden called for this in his 2023 State of the Union address. In recent months, the DOT has shown it is willing to penalize airlines that don’t comply with regulations.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.