Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
New Air Travel Rules Would Compensate Flyers for Cancellations, Delays
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 12 months ago on
May 8, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the rulemaking process Monday.

The rulemaking pledge continues a push by the Democratic administration to require airlines to improve customer service, and it comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season.

The aim of the rules would be, for the first time, to require airlines to pay compensation beyond a ticket refund and to cover expenses that consumers incur, including rebooking on another flight, if the airline causes a cancellation or significant delay.

“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can demand a refund of the unused part of their ticket and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, such as fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept a travel voucher instead of a refund.

After widespread flight disruptions last summer, the Transportation Department posted an online dashboard that was designed to pressure the airlines to improve customer service. The site lets consumers check each airline’s policy on refunds and compensation when flights are canceled or delayed.

Each of the 10 largest U.S. airlines quickly promised to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for another flight. Nine of the 10 — all but Frontier Airlines — also promised to pay for accommodations for passengers stranded overnight.

Questions arose again around reimbursing consumers for out-of-pocket costs after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights during a December meltdown in service. The Transportation and Justice departments are investigating whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it realistically could handle.

The Transportation Department says it is working with the airlines to reduce cancellations and delays this summer, when air travel could exceed pre-coronavirus pandemic records.

A report last month from the congressional Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for many cancellations, but the Federal Aviation Administration has also created disruptions due to technology outages and staffing shortages. The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from major New York airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a key facility.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

California Charter School Battles Intensify as Education Finances Get Squeezed

DON'T MISS

California Officials Debate Prop. 47 Changes to Curb Crime. On the Street, Answers Aren’t That Simple.

DON'T MISS

Campus Chaos: Students Across the US Rise Up Against Universities’ Ties to Israel-Hamas War

DON'T MISS

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

DON'T MISS

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

DON'T MISS

Fresno Oops? Garbage Hike Protest Vote Delayed by Error

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

DON'T MISS

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

DON'T MISS

Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules

DON'T MISS

Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?

UP NEXT

The Protests Over the Israel-Hamas War Put a Spotlight on College Endowments

UP NEXT

Antony Blinken Meets With China’s President Xi as US, China Spar Over Bilateral and Global Issues

UP NEXT

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

UP NEXT

Boeing’s Financial Woes Continue, While Families of Crash Victims Urge US to Prosecute

UP NEXT

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Airlines Now Required to Give Automatic Cash Refunds for Canceled, Delayed Flights

UP NEXT

General Motors Reports Strong First-Quarter Profits as Prices Help Offset Small US Sales Dip

UP NEXT

Did Fresno Unified’s Biggest Contractor Not Pay Its Workers? Company Still Gets Millions After Civil Penalty

UP NEXT

Work Starts on Bullet Train Line From Las Vegas to LA

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

1 day ago

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

1 day ago

Fresno Oops? Garbage Hike Protest Vote Delayed by Error

2 days ago

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

2 days ago

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

2 days ago

Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules

2 days ago

Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?

2 days ago

Nuggets Close to Sweeping Lakers After Game 3 Win

2 days ago

Jose Ramirez: ‘I Want to Make a Statement and Put on a Show’

2 days ago

‘IDEA’ Is the Latest Career-Oriented Campus on Fresno Unified’s Drawing Board

Local Education /

2 days ago

California Charter School Battles Intensify as Education Finances Get Squeezed

California’s public schools, with nearly 6 million students, are feeling the financial impacts of a quintuple whammy. Dan Walters CalMatte...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

California Charter School Battles Intensify as Education Finances Get Squeezed

5 hours ago

California Officials Debate Prop. 47 Changes to Curb Crime. On the Street, Answers Aren’t That Simple.

5 hours ago

Campus Chaos: Students Across the US Rise Up Against Universities’ Ties to Israel-Hamas War

1 day ago

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

1 day ago

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

2 days ago

Fresno Oops? Garbage Hike Protest Vote Delayed by Error

2 days ago

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

2 days ago

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend