Intelligence Law To Extend Ticket Protection

Corporate travel buyers and travel agents welcomed news yesterday that passenger ticket protection would be extended until Nov. 19, 2005, under an amendment to the legislation overhauling the country's intelligence networks that the U.S. Senate passed yesterday. The House of Representatives passed a similar measure earlier in the week, and the president is likely to sign the bill into law as early as next week.

The amendment to section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act requires airlines operating on routes served by carriers that cease operations to honor tickets issued by insolvent airlines, if space is available, at a cost not to exceed $50.00 per roundtrip. Passengers must make alternative arrangements with another airline within 60 days of the cessation of an airline's operations.

The Business Travel Coalition and the Association of Retail Travel Agents issued a joint statement applauding the inclusion of this measure.

The bill also requires increased inspection of cargo on commercial flights and gives the Transportation Security Administration more authority to compare passenger lists against those of suspected terrorists. Congress passed the legislation this week after President Bush urged in a letter to lawmakers and in his weekly radio address that they set aside differences over some elements of the bill.

The bill, drafted to implement recommendations of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terror attacks, establishes a more reliable and consistent system for screening cargo before it is loaded onto commercial planes. It requires TSA to create a training program for handlers of air cargo, mandates the creation of a database of known shippers and empowers the Federal Aviation Administration to revoke the certification of airlines that don't comply with the additional requirements. The bill also creates a pilot program to equip commercial jets with blast-proof cargo holds. Twenty-two percent of all cargo travels without inspection on commercial flights, according to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).