§ 42302. Consumer complaints

(a)In General.— The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a consumer complaints toll-free hotline telephone number for the use of passengers in air transportation and shall take actions to notify the public of—

(1) that telephone number; and

(2) the Internet Web site of the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation.

(b)Notice to Passengers on the Internet.— An air carrier or foreign air carrier providing scheduled air transportation using any aircraft that as originally designed has a passenger capacity of 30 or more passenger seats shall include on the Internet Web site of the carrier—

(1) the hotline telephone number established under subsection (a);

(2) the e-mail address, telephone number, and mailing address of the air carrier for the submission of complaints by passengers about air travel service problems; and

(3) the Internet Web site and mailing address of the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation for the submission of complaints by passengers about air travel service problems.

(c)Notice to Passengers on Boarding Documentation.— An air carrier or foreign air carrier providing scheduled air transportation using any aircraft that as originally designed has a passenger capacity of 30 or more passenger seats shall include the hotline telephone number established under subsection (a) on—

(1) prominently displayed signs of the carrier at the airport ticket counters in the United States where the air carrier operates; and

(2) any electronic confirmation of the purchase of a passenger ticket for air transportation issued by the air carrier.

(Added Pub. L. 112–95, title IV, § 415(a), Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 95.)

Effective Date

Effective Date

Requirements of this section to begin to apply 60 days after Feb. 14, 2012, except as otherwise provided, see section 415(c) of Pub. L. 112–95, set out as a note under section 42301 of this title.

Miscellaneous

DOT Airline Consumer Complaint Investigations

Pub. L. 112–95, title IV, § 408, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 87, provided that: “The Secretary of Transportation may investigate consumer complaints regarding—

“(1) flight cancellations;

“(2) compliance with Federal regulations concerning overbooking seats on flights;

“(3) lost, damaged, or delayed baggage, and difficulties with related airline claims procedures;

“(4) problems in obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets or fare adjustments;

“(5) incorrect or incomplete information about fares, discount fare conditions and availability, overcharges, and fare increases;

“(6) the rights of passengers who hold frequent flyer miles or equivalent redeemable awards earned through customer-loyalty programs; and

“(7) deceptive or misleading advertising.”