Key facts
- A House Judiciary subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. airline competition and regulation on June 24.
- The hearing follows the collapse of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines in May.
- Republicans are expected to criticize Biden administration airline policies, while Democrats will focus on Trump administration actions.
- The Trump administration had proposed $500 million to save Spirit Airlines, but creditors rejected the deal.
- USDOT has recently closed investigations and waived fines related to airline disruptions and compliance issues.
A House Judiciary subcommittee will convene on June 24 to examine the state of competition and regulation within the U.S. airline industry, a discussion prompted by the recent collapse of Spirit Airlines. The hearing, titled "The 30,000 Foot View: Competition and Regulation in the U.S. Airline Industry," is expected to feature testimony from Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu.
Republicans are anticipated to leverage the hearing to assert that the current administration's airline competition policies have failed to preserve jobs. Conversely, Democrats are expected to highlight actions taken during the Trump administration, particularly efforts to reduce aviation consumer protections and overturn airline fines for misconduct previously issued under the Biden administration.
The collapse of Spirit Airlines in May resulted in the loss of approximately 15,000 jobs. This occurred despite a proposal from President Donald Trump to allocate $500 million to save the airline, a plan that faced opposition from some of his close advisors and many Republican members of Congress. Creditors ultimately rejected the deal.
The Trump administration has contended that the prior administration, led by President Joe Biden, contributed to Spirit's downfall by blocking a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit in 2024. However, Biden officials have refuted this claim, pointing out that Spirit Airlines had filed for bankruptcy protection twice within a year and had not achieved profitability since 2019.
In related regulatory actions this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) concluded its investigation into a July 2024 incident at Delta Air Lines that impacted 1.3 million customers. Last year, the USDOT waived an $11 million fine imposed on Southwest Airlines for a significant operational meltdown during the busy holiday travel period in December 2022. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed its investigation in May into airlines that failed to adhere to required flight reductions at 40 major airports during the 2025 government shutdown, without imposing any fines. In November, the USDOT also withdrew a proposal initiated under the Biden administration that would have mandated airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers for flight disruptions within the carriers' control.