Airlines May Have To Follow Strict Flight Refund Rules Soon

The travel industry has been a little all over the place lately.

The travel industry is a little all over the place.

After continuing to increase for months, gas prices are finally starting to come back down, while flights continue to be delayed and canceled in high numbers. When an airline cancels a flight, it is sometimes hard to hold that airline accountable to get a refund or flight voucher for your canceled or delayed trip, but now, the Department of Transportation is trying to change that.

On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed stricter rules about when an airline would have to reimburse you for a canceled or delayed flight, according to CNBC. As it stands now, the current rule states that passengers are entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or “significantly” delayed or changed in a way that results in that passenger choosing not to travel.

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So, what’s the problem with that? It’s too vague. By just using the word “significantly,” a lot is left up to interpretation, so it can be hard to get a refund if your flight is delayed. Now, the Transportation Department is seeking to define “significantly.”

The agency is proposing that a domestic flight delayed longer than three hours or an international flight delayed longer than six hours requires compensation by the airline — but that’s not everything. The DOT is also proposing that passengers should get a refund if their flight’s route changes, or a new stop is added (like if your once nonstop flight now includes a layover) or if your aircraft is changed in a manner that causes “significant downgrades” in amenities and features that would have previously been available to you.

If a connection is added to your flight, you could be refunded.

This has been brought into the limelight now because of the high numbers of cancellations, changes, and delays that travelers are currently facing when flying. In 2021, 60% of the complaints the DOT received were regarding airline refunds.

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is also something that the DOT is considering, as well, because the agency is also proposing that airlines be required to give passengers airline credits or vouchers without expiration dates if they are unable to fly due to COVID-19, whether that be due to travel restrictions, lockdowns, or personal health decisions. This proposal comes as Southwest Airlines recently moved to get rid of expiration dates for flight credits unexpired or created on or after July 28th.