By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) – A House of Representatives panel will hold a June 24 hearing on the state of U.S. airline competition and regulation after the collapse of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines last month.
A House Judiciary subcommittee that oversees antitrust issues will hold a hearing titled “The 30,000 Foot View: Competition and Regulation in the U.S. Airline Industry.” Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu is expected to testify at the hearing.
Republicans are likely to use the hearing to argue the Biden administration’s airline competition policies failed to save jobs, while Democrats will seize on Trump administration efforts to roll back aviation consumer protection measures and void airline fines for misconduct issued under Biden.
Spirit Airlines collapsed in May after President Donald Trump had proposed $500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress.
Creditors rejected the deal despite intense efforts by the Trump administration to keep Spirit alive. The collapse resulted in the loss of about 15,000 jobs of Spirit employees and contractors.
The Trump administration has argued the former administration of President Joe Biden paved the way for the airline’s collapse by blocking a merger in 2024 between JetBlue Airways and Spirit, but Biden officials rejected the contention. Spirit had filed for bankruptcy protection twice within a year and had not made a profit since 2019.
This week, USDOT said it closed an investigation into a July 2024 meltdown at Delta Air Lines that disrupted the travel plans of 1.3 million customers; and last year, it waived an $11 million fine imposed on Southwest Airlines over the carrier’s December 2022 meltdown during a busy holiday travel period.
The Federal Aviation Administration in May closed its investigation into airlines that did not comply with required flight cuts at 40 major airports during the 2025 government shutdown without seeking any fines.
In November, USDOT withdrew a proposal issued under Biden that sought to require airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when carriers are responsible for U.S. flight disruptions.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Aurora Ellis)
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