Murphy Applauds Dept. Of Transportation For Answering His Call To Investigate Airline Price Gouging After May's Amtrak Derailment

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released a statement applauding the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx's announcement today that the Department of Transportation would investigate possible price gouging by airlines following May's deadly Amtrak derailment. Murphy first called for the investigation in a May 19th letter that expressed concern over reports of alarming price spikes and sought reassurances that they were not attempts by airlines to make money off of desperate travelers impacted by the tragedy. Murphy asked Assistant Attorney General William J. Baer of the U.S. Department of Justice and Chairwoman Edith Ramirez of the Federal Trade Commission to fully exercise the enforcement powers vested in their agencies if the investigation reveals that these price increases were in fact efforts by the airlines to unfairly profit off the thousands of travelers whose travel plans were altered as a result of the derailment.

"I applaud Secretary Foxx for answering my call to investigate suspicious airline price hikes after this year's tragic Amtrak derailment. As I said at the time, if the price increases were an effort to profit from desperate travelers impacted by this tragedy, it's simply unacceptable. I will pay close attention to the results of this investigation and ensure companies are held accountable if any wrongdoing occurred," Murphy said.

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