US Senator urges airlines to cap airfares for Hurricane Maria
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has urged all US airlines to cap airfares now for passengers fleeing Hurricane Maria.
Nelson is the most senior Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees the nation’s airline industry, and sent a letter to executives at 10 US airlines including American, United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.
He called for carriers to limit airfare prices now to allow travelers to make arrangements to leave without the fear of skyrocketing costs.
He also asked for refunds to be promptly issued for any cancelled flights.
"Hurricane Maria is a major hurricane and is threatening Puerto Rico and the Caribbean now and may be a threat to the U.S. coast by next week. Therefore, I urge you to begin the process now for implementing capped airfare."
"Individuals and families should not be forced to delay or cancel their evacuation efforts because of confusion over the cost of airfare," he wrote.
Airlines were accused of price gouging during Hurricane Irma with reports of fares for the few remaining seats ‘into the thousands of dollars’ in some cases.
After a backlash most airlines implemented fare caps on flights out of the Caribbean and Florida.
Delta is the first to respond for Hurricane Maria and agreed on Monday to cap economy fares at $199 out of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Maria has again been upgraded to a category 5 hurricane as it makes its way toward Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said it suffered ‘mind boggling’ damage based on early assessments.
"So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains," he wrote in a Facebook post.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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