A federal judge has denied a liquor permit for US Airways to serve alcohol while overflying New Mexico or while grounded at one of the state’s airports. US Airways sued back in 2007 after the state’s Regulation and License Department initially denied its original application after a horrific crash involving one of its passengers after their plan landed in New Mexico.
The ruling from the point of view of an unbiased observer is a bit amusing and seems to reinforce our American phobia about alcohol. But it also has serious interstate implications.
Lawyers for US Airways argued that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 gave the federal government exclusive authority to regulate all aspects of airline safety.
After New York’s failed attempt to institute a passengers’ bill of rights back in 2007, the precedent of federal control seemed fairly well established. Evidently, not.
The judge specified that that since no regulations pre-empt such laws, they may be enforced.
The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline argued that New Mexico has no authority to regulate on-board alcohol service, require alcohol training or enforce sanctions against the carrier because the state is pre-empted by federal law.
However, in a 24-page opinion issued late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo in Albuquerque found that neither the Airline Deregulation Act nor the Federal Aviation Act can pre-empt state liquor control laws.
However, this does beg many questions. What other laws are not specifically exempted?
Will airlines be required to pay sales tax on alcohol sold over individual states? Will take out tax be established for sandwich sales? Will the hand-held computers have a GPS function that automatically changes the tax rate depending on what state a flight is passing over? And then, how will the monies have to be funneled to the states?
Speaking of sandwiches, states have different restaurant inspection standards as well. And why stop at state jurisdiction? Let’s add in the city taxes, fees and regulations as well. Air travel can become a bonanza for cash-strapped localities located directly below a flight path.
This is one federal judge’s opinion that will probably be overturned before the ink is completely dry.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
