NEW YORK — A federal court Tuesday threw out a New York law forcing airlines to offer food, water and clean toilets to long-stranded passengers. That pleased the carriers but sparked new calls for a federal law with the same requirements.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel recognized “that airline services are regulated by the federal government and that a patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests,” the Air Transport Association, a Washington-based trade group, said in a statement.
But many passengers were displeased with the ruling by the court in Manhattan: “You can’t just leave somebody with no food and no water on an airplane and say you can’t get off,” said Jayne Anderson of Baton Rouge, La., who was waiting to depart Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Atlanta Journal Constitution
