The issue of cancelled flights has become a major concern for everyone as the holidays approach and millions of Americans prepare to visit their hometowns to visit relatives.
However, there is good news for tired travelers: a new rule put in place by the Biden Administration will require airlines to automatically provide cash refunds for flights that are canceled or considerably delayed.
As Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted, “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling.” The new rule, which went into effect this week, is intended to improve the complaint procedure over cancelled flights.
The new flight refund regulation
Although not all situations will need a refund, the U.S. Department of Transportation published in April the regulations that would oversee the new automatic refunds rule and the particular situations in which airlines are required to issue refunds without passengers requesting them.
Prior to the new rule’s implementation, each airline had its own set of procedures and standards that determined when a passenger was entitled to a refund, thus this standardization of the law is a significant step forward in consumer satisfaction care.
According to DOT remarks, this made it impossible for “passengers to know or assert their refund rights” and allowed each airline to provide or decline compensation at discretion.
If an airline cancels or drastically alters a flight, delays checked baggage greatly, or does not offer the additional services that customers have paid for, they will be entitled to an instant cash return in this new era of flying travel. Fines will be imposed on the airline for noncompliance.
Since we haven’t yet covered the nuances, these guidelines may appear a little general. An immediate refund is not the first option that airlines must provide, for instance, in the event that flights are canceled or drastically altered.
They can provide travel credits, alternate transit vouchers, or the option to reschedule passengers. However, a passenger must receive a complete refund if they decline these amenities.
According to the DOT, a “significant change” in flight is defined as a circumstance in which the departure or arrival schedule of an aircraft is changed by more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally.
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Because they have the potential to drastically change a passenger’s itinerary and make them decide they no longer want to follow it, changes to the airports of departure or arrival, an increase in the number of connections, or connections at different airports are also included by this definition.
Over the past few years, airlines have also struggled to handle lost baggage, damaged and mistreated luggage has been a frequent cause of complaints, but the most ridiculous aspect has been baggage arrival delays.
According to the new rule “Passengers that file a mishandled baggage report can get a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate.”
Depending on the length of the flight, passengers will still be eligible for a refund if their bag does not arrive at the gate within 15 to 30 hours of their international flight.
This deadline has been extended for international flights to account for time differences and the absence of daily direct flights for certain destinations.
