WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, a U.S. appeals court put a stop to the Biden administration’s 2024 rule requiring airlines to clearly reveal service fees upfront. The court found that the Transportation Department had not followed the necessary procedural guidelines.

According to the court’s decision, while the Transportation Department does have the right to create rules about fee disclosures to tackle “unfair or deceptive practices by airlines,” it should have given airlines a chance to provide feedback on a study referenced by USDOT regarding the impact of the proposed fee disclosure measures.

The ruling has sent the regulation back to the USDOT, allowing them to correct the procedural mistake. The department, currently under the Trump administration’s leadership since January 20, has not yet responded regarding whether it will pursue the rule further.

In April, USDOT introduced regulations that mandated airlines and ticket sellers to disclose service fees next to ticket prices in an effort to help customers avoid unexpected or unnecessary charges, but these were temporarily suspended due to legal challenges.

Major airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines, along with the trade organization Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association, filed a lawsuit in May to challenge these regulations.

Airlines for America expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, arguing that the regulation would represent an overreach that could bewilder consumers, bombarding them with excessive information that complicates their purchase decisions.

The Biden administration’s proposal aimed to have airlines start sharing fee information with third-party ticket sellers by October 2024 and on their websites by April 2025.

The airline industry previously stated that the rule would necessitate substantial financial investment, potentially amounting to millions, to redesign their websites.

In April, USDOT indicated that consumers were losing out on $543 million each year due to excessive fees, as passengers were often surprised by charges such as higher fees at the airport for checked luggage.

Many U.S. airlines implemented increased fees last year for bags that weren’t paid for in advance or were charged at the time of the flight. The proposed rule aimed to eliminate misleading advertising practices some airlines use to obscure the true cost of discounted airfare, according to USDOT.

In 2023, U.S. airlines generated $7.1 billion in baggage fees, rising from $6.8 billion in 2022. Recently, three senators raised concerns regarding whether two low-cost airlines might be unfairly adjusting their seat prices.