Congress moves to ban airline price gouging during disasters
H.R. 5502 — AirFAIR Act · Filed by Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) · Introduced Sep 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal transportation law to prohibit airlines and ticket agents from imposing excessive price increases on airfare during disasters or emergencies. It requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations defining 'excessive' (with a floor of 30% or more), and directs the FAA to study whether airlines have engaged in unfair pricing practices during disasters and report findings to Congress within one year.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a direct prohibition on excessive airfare pricing during disasters, paired with a regulatory mandate and fact-finding study. It is straightforward consumer protection legislation.
What the text implies
- The 30% threshold is a floor, not a ceiling — the Secretary may set a lower standard via regulation, potentially restricting airline pricing flexibility more aggressively.
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties, leaving those details to the Secretary's regulatory process.
- FAA study may reveal patterns of pricing abuse that inform future legislative or regulatory action beyond this bill's scope.
- Airlines may respond by reducing flight capacity or service during declared emergencies to avoid regulatory scrutiny, potentially worsening availability.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Consumers gain direct protection against price gouging during emergencies when travel demand is highest and alternatives are limited. The 30% floor is a concrete safeguard, and the regulatory framework gives the Secretary authority to tighten standards further based on FAA findings.
Who stands to gain
- consumers traveling during disasters/emergencies
Named in the bill
Secretary of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Airlines and air carriers, Ticket agents, Section 41712, Title 49 USC
Where it stands
- Sep 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,658 characters) on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,927 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-11-02.
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