The Department of Transportation reminded airlines on Wednesday that they must provide “prompt” automatic refunds to customers who miss their flight due to cancellation or delay.
“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
According to the DOT, passengers will be entitled to a full refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed, if they do not accept alternative transportation options or deny travel credits offered.
The department defines “significant change” as flight departure or arrival times that are moved more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally, flight departures or arrivals from a different airport, increases in the number of connections, passengers being downgraded to a lower class, updated connections at far-flung airports and flights on another plane that are less accessible to a passenger with a disability.
Before the final rule from Secretary Buttigieg, airlines had the freedom to determine what they considered a “significant change” to their benefit, often leaving passengers frustrated and without a refund.
Many customers have dealt with confusing refund policies regarding travel hiccups such as canceled flights, delays, or changes because each airline has its own rules regarding what qualifies for a full refund.
Even tickets purchased from travel agents and third-party sites such as Expedia and Travelocity, are covered under the new rules, reported ABC News.
The regulation applies not only to canceled flights.
Airlines that fail to provide passengers with the extra services they purchased — such as WiFi, seat selection, or in-flight entertainment — must also offer a refund in cash, airline miles or the original form of payment.
“Airlines and ticket agents must issue refunds within seven business days of refunds becoming due for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods,” the DOT statement stated.
Full refunds must include government-imposed taxes, fees and airline-imposed fees.
Passengers who are delayed due to checked baggage issues, such as lost or mishandled luggage, are entitled to a full refund for their checked bag fee if the luggage does not arrive within 12 hours of the domestic flight or 15-30 hours of an international flight, though the refund can vary depending on the flight duration.
The new airline rules will be implemented in six to 12 months, the DOT promised.
“There are different implementation periods in this final rule ranging from six months for airlines to provide automatic refunds when owed to 12 months for airlines to provide transferable travel vouchers or credits,” the agency said.
Airlines will be required to notify passengers of immediate changes to their travel plans, whether it’s a canceled or delayed flight, and provide them with a refund of the ticket and extra purchased services.
“Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.”