With the upcoming holiday season on the way, be prepared for expensive ticket prices, long lines, canceled flights and delayed departures.
Fortunately, due to the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued new rules that require airlines to automatically issue refunds for canceled and “significantly” delayed flights. And the new rules went into effect on Monday, Oct. 28.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Monday the big news.
“Passengers are entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept the significantly changed flight, rebooking on an alternative flight, or alternative compensation,” the rule states.
“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The new rule, which was proposed in April, also includes refunds of checked bag fees if the bag isn’t delivered within 12 hours for domestic flights or 15 to 30 hours for international flights.
Also, U.S. airlines are to refund passengers for any fees paid for an extra service, like Wifi, in-flight entertainment or seat-selection.
Prior to the new rule, it was up to airlines to decide how long a delay goes on for before a refund would be considered.
This made it difficult for “passengers to know or assert their refund rights,” the DOT said.
Now, thanks to the administration’s new policy, there’s an exact definition of a delay, which lasts at least three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.
According to the DOT, a “significant change” is defined as a situation where a flight’s departure or arrival time is changed by more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally.
It also includes changes in departure or arrival airports, an increase in the number of connections or connections at different airports.
Additionally, it applies to circumstances when a passenger is downgraded to a lower class of service or if flights are switched to planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability, per the rules.
And if you thought airlines could circumvent the new policy by offering customers travel credit or a voucher for canceled flights instead of giving customers their money back, you would be wrong.
Under the new regulation, airlines and ticket agents are now required to issue refunds within “seven business days of refunds becoming due for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.”
The refunds also must be made in full and in cash or whichever original payment was used to purchase the airline ticket, such as credit card or airline miles.
Now that the new rule has taken effect, passengers will have an easier time rightfully obtaining their refunds just in case the airlines cancel or drastically changes a flight, significantly delays their checked bags or fails to provide the extra services they’ve purchased.