The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Department of Transportation's rule requiring enhanced transparency of airline ancillary service fees on February 3, 2026, after the DOT conceded it violated Administrative Procedure Act requirements during rulemaking.

The consolidated cases, numbered 24-60231 and 24-60373, brought together Airlines for America, the industry's main trade association, along with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines in the first petition. The second petition included Spirit Airlines and Frontier Group Holdings as separate challengers to the same DOT regulation.

The National Air Carrier Association and International Air Transport Association also joined the first petition as co-petitioners, representing a broad coalition of domestic and international aviation interests opposing the rule.

In an en banc decision involving all 17 active Fifth Circuit judges, the court granted the airlines' petitions after the Department of Transportation acknowledged it had failed to comply with proper notice-and-comment procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act. The DOT agreed to vacate the rule and restart the rulemaking process with proper procedural compliance.

The airlines had argued that the DOT's implementation of the fee transparency requirements bypassed required public comment periods and failed to adequately consider industry feedback during the regulatory development process.

The vacated rule would have required airlines to provide upfront disclosure of fees for services such as baggage, seat selection, and flight changes during the booking process, rather than revealing these costs later in the transaction.

The Department of Transportation indicated it would begin a new rulemaking process to address airline fee transparency while ensuring compliance with Administrative Procedure Act requirements. The timeline for new regulations remains unclear following the court's decision.