Airlines for America and six U.S. airlines are taking the U.S. Department of Transportation to court, claiming new rules for disclosing service fees is an overstretch of the agency’s authority.

Airline consortium Airlines for America (A4A) and six U.S. airlines are asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a recent rule set by the U.S. Department of Transportation, claiming a requirement to disclose service fees would create major issues for flyers.

Reuters reports A4A is joining with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, and United Airlines to challenge the rulemaking announced in April.

Airlines Call New Rules “An Abuse of Discretion and Otherwise Contrary to Law”

The rule comes from a new set of regulations announced on April 24, 2024. In addition to requiring airlines to offer prompt refunds for cancellations and major flight delays, the DOT required airlines and travel agencies to disclose “junk fees” upfront to flyers. These fees included baggage fees and reservation change or cancellation fees.

According to the DOT, their enforcement actions resulted in over $3 billion in refunds and reimbursements for flyers, along with $164 million in penalties for consumer protection violations. Moreover, the government agency estimates consumers overpaid airlines in ancillary fees to the tune of $543 million.

In their response, Reuters says the airlines clam the rule is an “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and otherwise contrary to law.” The lawsuit was not available for review on the court’s website.

In a statement to the news organization, Airlines for America said that the Transportation Department’s rule to “regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority.” They claim that fees are already provided at the time of purchase, and the rule is nothing more than a “bad solution in search of a problem.

Southwest Airlines, which is the only airline which does not charge for checked baggage, was not a party to the lawsuit. The carrier originally expressed their support for the DOT’s new rules.

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Photo by Josue Isai Ramos Figueroa on Unsplash