Flight Delayed or Canceled? Find Out What the Airline Owes You

This holiday travel season has been chaotic for a lot of passengers.

Thousands of flights have been canceled. Southwest Airlines is still struggling and canceling flights. Many passengers have been left stranded in airports due to these issues. However, you may be eligible for compensation from your airline if a flight is canceled. Here’s how to check.

One of the first things you should do when your flight is canceled and you need to be compensated for a hotel, food, or other transportation is to check the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airline Customer Dashboard. This site will let you see what each airline has committed to in the event of cancellations and delays, which will let you know when you should be compensated.

So let’s say that you are flying on Southwest and your flight has been canceled for a “controllable” reason. Southwest must book you another flight on its airline. However, Southwest does not have to rebook you on another airline.

You are entitled to a meal or food voucher if the delay or cancellation results in you waiting more than three hours. You are also entitled to a complimentary hotel stay for any cancellation that requires you to stay overnight, as well as free transportation to and from that hotel. Note that the same goes for flight delays, too.

Know what compensation you’re entitled to

So what is a “controllable” flight delay or cancellation? This is any delay or cancellation caused by the airline, including maintenance issues, staffing problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading, and fueling. It does not include weather-related delays.

Flying is stressful. Know what you’re entitled to when things go wrong.

Also, note that if an airline cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a big change to the flight, that airline is required to provide an immediate refund to the passenger, regardless of the reason for the change. This includes passengers with non-refundable tickets. This also doesn’t include passengers who choose alternatives, such as rebooking another flight. If you do not receive a refund, you can contact the U.S. Department of Transportation to file a complaint.

If your flight is canceled and an airline does not automatically offer you any compensation that you are entitled to, be sure to ask for those food vouchers, hotel stays, etc.

Something that we can also recommend when booking a flight is to use a travel rewards credit card that has travel protections or purchase travel insurance in case there’s a problem with a flight outside of the airline’s control, such as bad weather.