Sen. Merkley to Introduce Bill Limiting Flight Capacity During COVID-19 Pandemic

A member of a ground crew walks past American Airlines planes parked at the gate during the CCP virus outbreak at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, on April 5, 2020. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) says he will introduce legislation that would prohibit the sale of middle seats on commercial airliners as long as the COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health concern.

“A lot of folks reacted to my tweet yesterday about the irresponsible sale of middle seats on planes saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if someone in the Senate did something about it?’” Merkley wrote on Twitter on July 3.