Why is government regulation of airlines considered a controversial issue?

[nycz_hustla]

Also what would be the two sides to it?

[Rupert]

The reason is that airlines are a business.
If the government regulates businesses, then they infringe upon free trade.
Most conservatives believe that the government has no right or authority to regulate business, as the constitution does not grant them any power in that area.

The two sides would likely be this:
Government should not interfere with business.
Versus
The government should interfere and regulate airlines because fair prices are important in our economy, and some regulations deal with safety issues.

I myself feel that the government should regulate airlines. I also would say that they do have constitutional authority under article 1 section 8 of the constitution: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
This is often referred to as the necessary and proper clause, and is why the government should have the right to regulate the airlines. Because it is necessary and proper to keep things from getting out of hand financially in our current economic climate, and to make sure they aren't cutting corners to save money that can lower the safety of those traveling on their planes, and those below, since a crash is a threat not only those on the plane.

[Socrates]

Airlines were deregulated years ago and business "took off". Any business regulation is controversial. It should be done as sparingly as possible. The free market does pretty good at "regulating" things for the consumer. However, if this not the case, regulation MAY be in order.

Safety and lack of responsiveness to the consumer are potential good reasons for regulation. The problem is that the government (including this one) may have the best of intentions but have no clue on the needs of business and thus, screw things up. They may also have their own agenda (again, like this one) which usually are driven by social goals. These usually are not in the best interest of business but MAY be looked upon favorably by society as a whole or at least by the party in power.