New Notice Needed

Airlines for America v. DOT addressed when additional rulemaking notice is called for because of new factual information. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the Department of Transportation (DOT) had relied on new data from a study study, to justify its rule on airline fee disclosures without providing an opportunity for public comment on this data.

This omission was material because the study supplied basic assumptions used by the DOT to estimate the net benefits of the rule, which ranged from $30 million to $254 million annually. The Court stated that the DOT’s reliance on this new data without public input constituted a “serious procedural error.” Nos. No. 24-60231 and 24-60373 (Jan. 28, 2025).