A group of federal appeals judges has moved to vacate a proposed Biden-era rule that would have required airlines to fully disclose additional fees up front.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the full Fifth Circuit ruled against the measure because it violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment requirement.
“We conclude that DOT failed to comply with this provision,” the opinion read. “Therefore, we must apply the APA’s ‘default’ remedy — vacatur.”
The rule would have required airlines to disclose charges for checked luggage, carry-on bags, and changing or canceling reservations. It was one of a number of regulations issued in the last year and a half of the Biden administration aimed at bolstering consumer protections in the commercial airline industry.
Several U.S. airlines and the trade group Airlines for America sued the Department of Transportation over the fee disclosure rule in 2024, and the Fifth Circuit temporarily blocked the order while it heard their complaints and considered the case.
There were other potential issues with the rule, the judges added, but because the current Department of Transportation is planning to “redesign or rescind” the measure, those problems were not brought up or considered.
Other airline-specific regulations drafted by the Biden administration, including one that established a compensation structure for passengers whose flights are delayed, have been voluntarily canceled by the Trump administration.
