NEW YORK — U.S. lawmakers say they will introduce bills establishing rights for airline travelers after JetBlue Airways Corp. passengers were forced to sit on planes for as long as 10 hours during an ice storm last week.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Michael Thompson, both Democrats from California, say their legislation would require airlines to provide passengers with adequate food, water and restroom facilities during delays.

JetBlue today will outline a plan to give more information to customers facing delays and better procedures for handling disruptions. The company gave out refunds and free trips last week after the Valentine's Day ice storm in the eastern U.S., which led to the cancellation of at least 1,000 flights.

"I'm hoping the airlines will implement a policy where they will, in fact, address the issue," said Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the House aviation subcommittee. "But if they do not, we intend to step in and to protect the passengers."

Kate Hanni, 46, a real-estate agent from Napa, Calif., has gathered more than 11,000 signatures in an online petition supporting a passengers' bill of rights. Hanni spent more than nine hours on American Airlines Flight 1348 in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 29 after being rerouted from Dallas, and spent the next three days wearing the same clothes.

"Clearly, they just won't take care of themselves," said Hanni, who plans to meet with Thompson and other lawmakers in Washington this week in support of the legislation. "We feel that we need to take it into our own hands."

Boxer's bill would give passengers the right to leave a plane if it has sat for more than three hours after the doors have been closed. Thompson's legislation would require the airlines to draft their own standards for treating passengers, frequently update travelers on the cause and timing of delays, and make an effort to return all checked bags within 24 hours.

"Flying will never be as comfortable as home," Thompson said in a statement. "But passengers have a right to know what level of service they can expect on an aircraft."

American Airlines, the world's largest carrier, sent apologies and travel vouchers to more than 4,600 passengers stranded on planes during December thunderstorms, and implemented a policy to allow passengers to leave flights grounded for more than four hours.

American's response and a contingency plan developed by Northwest Airlines after some of its passengers were stranded on planes for more than 8 1/2 hours in Detroit in 1999 are good examples of how the industry can address the issue, Costello said.

"We understand that there will be weather delays," Costello said. "We understand that there are reasons that cause these delays. But it is unreasonable, and it's unacceptable to keep passengers on an airplane on a tarmac for seven, eight, nine, 10 hours."

U.S. lawmakers withdrew similar bills that would have penalized airlines for poor service in 1999 after the Air Transport Association unveiled voluntary reforms to provide more consumer protection for airline passengers.

New government regulations may result in more hassles for passengers, wrote James May, president and chief executive officer of the Air Transportation Association, in an editorial published yesterday in USA Today. May's organization is the industry's Washington trade group.

"Our biggest concern is if there are mandatory standards," association spokesman David Castelveter said by phone. "They could have unintended consequences."

JetBlue canceled 139 of its 600 scheduled flights yesterday, or 23 percent of its operating schedule, and has canceled at least 1,000 flights since the ice storm began. JetBlue expects to operate at least 90 percent of its schedule today and be back to normal operations by tomorrow, spokesman Don Uselmann said.

JetBlue Chief Executive David Neeleman said the cancellations were the result of a breakdown in communications and proposed to pay customers if they were stranded on a plane for too long, the New York Times reported, citing an interview.

Neeleman wasn't available for interviews, Uselmann said.