This Monday, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will propose a new rule that would require airlines to compensate or cover expenses for customers facing “controllable airline cancellations” or delays, a White House official said.
Currently, no airlines provide cash compensation for preventable cancellations or delays. Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers are able to demand a refund and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, like fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. Just one airline company guarantees frequent flyer miles, and two provide travel credits and vouchers, according to the official. While mandates for such compensation policies already exist in Canada and the European Union, Buttigieg, Biden, and Biden want things to change here in the US.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “This rule would, for the first time in US history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.”
Last year, mass flight cancellations created a bad travel experience for flyers across the US. Things were so hectic at that time Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his department would be looking into the Southwest Airlines scheduling system after thousands of flights were canceled and enraged passengers across the U.S.
“This has clearly crossed the line from what’s an uncontrollable weather situation to something that is the airline’s direct responsibility,” Buttigieg said in an interview on “NBC Nightly News.”
Amid those reports, the Department of Transportation launched a customer service dashboard to help vacationers. Around that time, each of the 10 largest U.S. airlines promised to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours or over for another flight. However, nine of the 10 — all but Frontier Airlines — also promised to pay for accommodations for passengers stranded overnight, PBSNews, noted.
The dashboard was part of an extended pressure campaign from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency.
He said at the time, “Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption,” Buttigieg previously said in a statement. The new tool, he said, will help travelers “easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions.”
As of right now, federal law does not require airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays. If a flight is canceled, a passenger can choose to either be placed on another flight if available or receive a refund.
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