[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64292-64293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25084]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0190]


Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee Matters; Meeting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation 
(DOT).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Public meetings of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory 
Committee (ACPAC).

DATES: The first meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (ET), on 
December 2, 2021. The second meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m.-5:00 
p.m. (ET), on March 21 and 22, 2022. Requests to attend the meeting 
must be received by March 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be open to the public. The first meeting 
will be held virtually on Zoom's video platform. Please register for 
the first meeting at https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_6X7_jo0CTvia3JfU9XR82A. The second meeting is tentatively planned to 
be held in-person at the DOT headquarters building in Washington, DC 
and will be livestreamed. Attendance is open to the public, up to the 
room's capacity of 100 attendees. In the event the meeting is held 
virtually, information regarding how to attend the meeting virtually 
will be provided to individuals who registered to attend the in-person 
meeting. That information will also be made available to the public 
through another Federal Register notice.
    A detailed agenda for each meeting will be available on the ACPAC 
website at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/ACPAC in advance 
of each meeting, along with copies of the meeting minutes after the 
meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Register for the first virtual meeting 
at https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_6X7_jo0CTvia3JfU9XR82A. To register for the second in-person 
meeting, please contact the Department by email at [email protected]. In 
the event the meeting is held virtually, information regarding how to 
attend the meeting virtually will be provided to individuals who 
registered to attend the in-person meeting. That information will also 
be made available to the public through another Federal Register 
notice. Attendance is open to the public subject to any technical and/
or capacity limitations. For further information, contact Kimberly 
Graber, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, by telephone at (202) 366-
1695 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The ACPAC was initially established as a Federal advisory committee 
by the Department as mandated by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 
of 2012. The statutory termination date for the Committee has been 
extended several times, most recently by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 
2018 (2018 FAA Act), to the current termination date of September 20, 
2023. The ACPAC evaluates current aviation consumer protection programs 
and provides recommendations to the Secretary for improving them, as 
well as recommending any additional consumer protections that may be 
needed.

II. Purpose of the Meetings and Agendas

A. December 2, 2021 Meeting

    Two topics will be discussed at the December 2, 2021 meeting--(1) 
Airline Ticket Refunds and (2) Information for Consumers Adversely 
Affected by Airline Delays or Cancellations. Regarding airline ticket 
refunds, the Department has consistently interpreted 49 U.S.C. 41712, 
which prohibits U.S. air carriers, foreign air carriers, and ticket 
agents from engaging in unfair practices in the sale of air 
transportation, to require carriers and ticket agents to provide 
requested refunds to passengers when a carrier cancels or significantly 
changes a flight to, from, or within the United States. The Department 
has not defined the terms ``significant change'' and ``cancellation'' 
in regulation or statute. The Department has announced a rulemaking \1\ 
that would clarify in regulation the Department's longstanding 
interpretation of the refund requirement. In addition, the rulemaking 
would also address protections for consumers who are unable to travel 
due to government restrictions. The ACPAC will consider potential 
definitions of the terms ``significant change'' and ``cancellation'' 
and the issue of protections for consumers who are unable to travel due 
to government restrictions or advisories.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Airline Ticket Refunds, RIN 2105-AF04.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regarding reporting the causes of airline delays and cancellations, 
Section 413 of the 2018 FAA Act directs the Department to review the 
categorization by reporting airlines of the causes of delays and 
cancellations, including, among other things, whether it is an unfair 
or deceptive practice for an air carrier to inform a passenger that a 
flight is delayed or cancelled due to weather

[[Page 64293]]

alone when other factors are involved. Section 413 states that the 
Department may consult with the ACPAC to assist in conducting the 
review and providing recommendations on improving the quality and 
quantity of information provided to passengers adversely affected by a 
cancellation or delay. At the December 2, 2021 meeting, the Committee 
will consider the quality and quantity of information on causes of 
airline delays or cancellations provided to passengers adversely 
affected by an airline cancellation or delay, focusing on whether it is 
an unfair or deceptive practice for an air carrier to inform a 
passenger that a flight is delayed or cancelled due to weather alone 
when other factors are involved.

B. March 21 and 22, 2022 Meeting

    Two topics, one continuing from the December meeting and one new 
topic, will be discussed at the March 21 and 22, 2022 meeting--(1) 
Airline Ticket Refunds (continued) and (2) Enhancing Consumer Access to 
Airline Flight Information. Regarding airline ticket refunds, the 
Committee will continue to consider this topic and will discuss the 
Department's Airline Ticket Refunds Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which 
the Department anticipates will be issued prior to the March 21 and 22, 
2022 meeting.
    Regarding the second topic, the Executive Order on Promoting 
Competition in the American Economy, issued on July 9, 2021 (E.O. 
14036), directed the Department to take action to protect consumers and 
promote competition. Specifically, the Department is directed, among 
other things, to ``promote enhanced transparency and consumer 
safeguards, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, 
including through potential rulemaking, enforcement actions, or 
guidance documents, with the aims of: (1) Enhancing consumer access to 
airline flight information so that consumers can more easily find a 
broader set of available flights, including by new or lesser known 
airlines; and . . .'' The ACPAC will consider the topic of enhancing 
access to airline flight information so that consumers can more easily 
find a broader set of available flights.

III. Public Participation

    The meetings will be open to the public; however, attendance may be 
limited due to constraints of the virtual platform and/or physical 
meeting space. Register for the December 2, 2021 meeting at https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_6X7_jo0CTvia3JfU9XR82A. To 
register for the March 2022 meeting, please send an email to the 
Department as set forth in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 
The Department is committed to providing equal access to this meeting 
for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services 
because of a disability, such as sign language interpreter or other 
ancillary aids, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Members of the public may also present written comments at any 
time. The docket number referenced above (DOT-OST-2018-0190) has been 
established for committee documents including any written comments that 
may be filed. At the discretion of the Chair or Designated Federal 
Officer of ACPAC, after completion of the planned agenda, individual 
members of the public may provide comments, time permitting. Any oral 
comments presented must be limited to the objectives of the Committee 
and will be limited to five (5) minutes per person.
    Individual members of the public who wish to present oral comments 
must provide advance notice to the Department of Transportation contact 
noted above via email that they wish to present oral comments. Advance 
notice by individuals wishing to present oral comments at the December 
2, 2021 must be provided to the Department no later than Monday, 
November 22, 2021. Advance notice by individuals wishing to present 
oral comments at the March 21 and 22, 2022 meeting must be provided to 
the Department no later than Friday, March 11, 2022.
    Speakers are requested to submit a written copy of their prepared 
remarks for inclusion in the meeting records and for circulation to 
ACPAC members prior to the meetings. Individuals speaking at the 
December 2, 2021 meeting are requested to submit their remarks no later 
than Monday, November 29, 2021. Individuals speaking at the March 21 
and 22, 2022 meeting are requested to submit their remarks no later 
than Tuesday, March 15, 2022. All prepared remarks submitted on time 
will be accepted and considered as part of the meeting's record.

IV. Viewing Documents

    You may view documents mentioned in this notice at https://www.regulations.gov. After entering the docket number (DOT-OST-2018-
0190), click the link to ``Open Docket Folder'' and choose the document 
to review.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 12th day of November 2021.
John E. Putnam,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-25084 Filed 11-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P