49 U.S.C. § 44902
Section 44902 · Refusal to transport passengers and property
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 49 court decisions — leading case Hodges v. Delta Airlines, Inc. (1995)
Most recently applied in Anila Daulatzai v. State of Maryland (March 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Mandatory Refusal.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall prescribe regulations requiring an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier to refuse to transport—
(1) a passenger who does not consent to a search under section 44901(a) of this title establishing whether the passenger is carrying unlawfully a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance; or
(2) property of a passenger who does not consent to a search of the property establishing whether the property unlawfully contains a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance.
(b) Permissive Refusal.—Subject to regulations of the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier may refuse to transport a passenger or property the carrier decides is, or might be, inimical to safety.
(c) Agreeing to Consent to Search.—An agreement to carry passengers or property in air transportation or intrastate air transportation by an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier is deemed to include an agreement that the passenger or property will not be carried if consent to search the passenger or property for a purpose referred to in this section is not given.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Section
In this section, the word "passenger" is substituted for "person" for consistency in the revised title.
In subsection (a)(1), the words "of his person" are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (a)(2), the words "or inspection" are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (b), the words "reasonable" and "also" are omitted as surplus. The word "rules" is omitted as being synonymous with "regulations". The words "the carrier decides is" are substituted for "when, in the opinion of the carrier, such transportation would" to eliminate unnecessary words. The words "of flight" are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (c), the words "for compensation or hire" are omitted because of the definitions of "air transportation" and "intrastate air transportation" in section 40102(a) of the revised title. The word "inspect" is omitted as surplus.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254, §1991(d)(2)(A), substituted "Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration" for "Under Secretary of Transportation for Security" in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–254, §1991(d)(2)(B), substituted "Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration" for "Under Secretary".
2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–71 substituted "Under Secretary of Transportation for Security" for "Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration" in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–71, §101(f)(7), substituted "Under Secretary" for "Administrator".