Assemblyman Mark Leno introduced the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights on Wednesday for California, similar to the New York bill that was adopted after an ice storm delayed a Jet Blue flight for 10 hours, and passengers were forced to remain inside the JFK Airport during the storm.

During a news conference at the San Francisco International Airport, Leno said: “The status quo is really a tragedy waiting to happen. We should not have to relinquish access to these basic human needs just because we board an airplane.”

The necessity of establishing the legislation to protect the rights of flight passengers appeared after the occurrence of flights being delayed for up to 10 hours increased and passenger remaining stuck in the airports increased.

Kate Hanni is one of the persons who remained for nine hours at an airport in Austin with her husband and their two children after their American Airlines MD-80 flight was unable to continue its flight course. On December 29, 2006, she became president and initiated the Coalition for an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights.

Hanni has been fighting to implement the bill throughout the United States, but unfortunately the process proved to be slow and laborious. The first state to take on the bill was New York, after the JFK experience, and others are soon to follow.

The states' efforts to implement regulations regarding the rights of the passengers however encountered reluctant airlines, arguing the states are not entitled to rule on the matter, and that they lacked the jurisdiction.

If we look at it, Leno’s bill is not asking for anything out of the ordinary, except for the carriers to provide basic amenities for passengers that have been forced to remain on an airport, such as food, water, air, light and sanitary bathroom. That’s not to much to ask, is it?