Airlines Will Have to Pay Passengers for Delays Under New Biden Admin Rules
Even if you’re not an anxious flyer, booking a plane trip can sometimes feel like rolling the dice. Will you make the tight-turnaround connecting flight? Will your carry on fit in the overhead bin? Will you end up stuck, waiting in the terminal or worse—on the tarmac? And honestly, the odds aren’t great. So far in 2023, about one in five flights have been delayed, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation. But soon, significant travel disruption could at least come with a consolation prize.
The Biden Administration is set to create new rules, requiring airlines to compensate passengers and pay for customer’s additional expenses in instances where flights are significantly delayed or cancelled. The rulemaking, announced Monday in a DOT press release, would cover “controllable” scenarios—in which airlines are responsible for travel interruptions (i.e. probably not weather-related schedule changes).
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In response to such disruptions, the to-come rules would ensure passengers receive compensation in the form of cash, meals or meal vouchers, overnight accommodations, and/or transportation to and from any offsite hotel. Any regulation would also include definitions for all eligible scenarios, including what a “significant delay” is.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary, in a statement. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses.”
This past winter holiday season was a travel nightmare. Thousands of flights were cancelled and millions of travelers were left stranded amid the chaos. Summer 2022, too, was a terrible time for travel worldwide. “Last summer we saw unacceptable rates of delays and cancellations, even on blue sky days,” said Buttigieg during a Monday speech. “Summer travel is going to put enormous pressure on the system,” he added.
So it makes sense that the Biden Administration would be aiming to address the problem now—ahead of the next busy summer travel season. Last August, U.S. legislators introduced a similar set of rules in the Senate, through the Cash Refunds for Flight Cancellations Act. But so far, that bill hasn’t progressed beyond committee. Enter, the executive branch.
“Historically, when delays and cancellations are the airlines’ fault, the law has only required airlines to refund customers the price of their flight ticket—but not the cost of meals, hotels, or transportation when you get left in limbo,” President Joe Biden said during a Monday afternoon speech. Already, there’ve been some strides to remedy this. Biden pointed out that—facing political pressure—some airlines have begun to offer hotel accommodation and other protections in the face of delays and cancellations. But the new rules would push this further—making such compensation a requirement.
In Biden’s words, getting your money’s worth would be, “not voluntary, but mandatory.” All U.S. airlines would have to “compensate you with meals, hotels, taxis, rideshares, and re-booking fees—and cash miles and/or travel vouchers whenever they’re the ones to blame for the cancellation or delay. And that’s on top of refunding the cost of your ticket,” Biden explained. The European Union and Canada already have similar regulations in place, he said.
This week’s White House rulemaking announcement follows other recent consumer airline protections from the Biden Administration. In September, the DOT added cost transparency and refund requirements to the wild west of in-flight WiFi and bag check fees. And though admin officials are just at the beginning of the regulatory process, other DOT updates make it easy to find out what airlines already offer when it comes to delays and cancellations.
The transportation department has also updated its Airline Customer Service Dashboard, accessible at FlightRights.Gov. The digital tool details 10 different carriers’ existing policies when it comes to delays and cancellations. Right now, none of the listed airlines offer cash compensation for 3+ hour delays. Biden and Buttigieg’s new efforts should change that.
More details on the forthcoming airline regulations will be available in a Monday 2:30 P.M. White House briefing.
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