Newsstand - Fliers get protection if airline goes bankrupt

Travelers worried about flying on airlines that could go bankrupt can breathe a little easier.
Congress just extended a provision that requires airlines to accept passengers from a bankrupt rival when they share the same route. Airlines are prohibited from charging more than $25 to provide transportation, no matter what the original ticket cost.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003/2003-02-18-bankruptfees.htm

Does anyone know if this law extends to award tickets, remembering that a traveller must now "pay" at least the Sept. 11 security fee on award tickets.

I'm also curious about the new end date for these protections. The article says that the current provision would have expired in May but doesn't indicate a new expiration date.

my guess is, that this is
* limited for inner USA flights
* for USA based carriers only

Well, $25 is still higher than a lot of the fares the airlines are getting these days http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif