Dive Brief:
- The Department of Transportation launched a rulemaking process Thursday and is seeking public comment on potentially requiring airlines to compensate customers for significantly delayed or cancelled flights.
- DOT is considering requiring airlines to pay customers at least $200 for canceled or significantly delayed flights caused by the carrier and requiring airlines to cover meals, overnight lodging and related transportation expenses. This compensation would be in addition to providing refunds for canceled flights
- The department is also considering requiring airlines to rebook customers on the next available flight at no additional cost following cancellations or significant delays.
Dive Insight:
The public has 60 days to submit comments. But the DOT’s efforts to require airlines to pay customers face an uncertain future and may not have support under the next administration, according to Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going.
The DOT under Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has aimed to expand consumer protections.
In October, the agency finalized a rule that requires airlines to provide automatic cash refunds to customers for canceled or significantly delayed flights.
“This action we’re announcing is another step forward into a better era for commercial air travel — where the flying public is better protected and passengers aren’t expected to bear the cost of disruptions caused by airlines,” Buttigieg said in a prepared statement Thursday.
Over 15 million passengers were potentially impacted by flight cancellations from July 2021 through April 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office. The agency also found that in 2022 and 2023, airlines caused over 60% of three-hour or longer domestic flight delays.
DOT is looking at requiring airlines to pay customers on a tiered approach: domestic delays that extend from three to under six hours could mean payments between $200 to $300, while delays of more than nine hours could be as high as $775.
This would be a change from current airline regulations.
“Right now the regulation is that you get a refund or a rebooked flight, one or the other, and no compensation on top,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going.
Those in the airline industry criticized the department’s latest regulation efforts. Airlines For America, a lobby group for airlines, said the DOT’s proposal was “ill-concieved.”
“This proposal is simply one in a long string of ill-conceived and rushed rules from an administration intent on reregulating the U.S. airline industry,” an Airlines For America spokesperson said via email. “Mandating additional cash compensation — beyond what airlines already provide — will drive up ticket prices, make air travel less accessible for price-sensitive travelers and negatively impact carrier operations.”
The DOT’s proposed ideas echo a European Union law that requires airlines provide financial compensation for significantly delayed flights.
