Meeting planners booking tickets on airlines that go out of business will have those tickets protected under a provision of the Intelligence Bill passed earlier this week in Congress.
Congress extended a section of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that requires airlines operating on the same routes to fly passengers with tickets on defunct airlines if space is available. Airlines are allowed to charge passengers up to $50 on a roundtrip basis, and travelers must make those alternative arrangements within 60 days of an airline ceasing its operations.
The extension of the airline ticket protection provision of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act will expire Nov. 19, 2005.
To read more about how Congress and the White House could affect the meetings industry in the next four years, look for the January issue of Corporate Meetings & Incentives.