During the pandemic, we heard from Coloradans about how airlines–and Frontier Airlines in particular–failed to follow the law and left them unable to use refunds on flights canceled on account of the public health emergency. I heard complaints that people could not get through to customer service to use refunds in time; that promised refund opportunities were denied; that consumers were only able to use part of a flight credit; and many more complaints about being mistreated.

Under federal law, airline consumer protections are enforced by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)–and states are cut out of the mix. But I did not take no for an answer. I lead a bipartisan coalition of states to complain to the U.S. DOT and we pressed Congress to create a role for State AGs to enforce airline consumer protections. And I stayed on the case until we got relief for Colorado consumers–notably, ensuring that refund commitments were honored.

I did not stop with ensuring Coloradans were tried fairly in the past. I went to work to press for a system so that future complaints could be handled appropriately, quickly, and fairly. Last month, I welcomed U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Colorado to announce such a framework. The Denver Post explained the significance of this historic announcement.