


The Trump administration is abandoning a Biden-era regulation that would have reimbursed airline passengers with cash, food, or lodging in the event of flight delays or cancellations.
The Transportation Department published a regulatory document on Thursday, saying its withdrawal of the reimbursement plan is “consistent with Department and administration priorities.”
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If approved, the proposed rule would have compensated airline passengers in cases where flight disruptions were caused by circumstances within an airline’s control. Travelers would have received between $200 and $775 in cash and other accommodations, such as flight rebookings.
The Biden administration made the proposal in December 2024 in its final weeks, leaving it in the hands of the successive administration. Before then, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touted the upcoming airline compensation.
“I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from your U.S. airlines,” Biden said in May 2023, standing alongside Buttigieg, to announce the proposal. “You deserve to be fully compensated. Your time matters. The impact on your life matters.”
Buttigieg similarly said that “passengers should not foot the bill” if their flights are canceled or delayed.
While the proposed rule was popular with airline passengers, it would have further strained airlines already facing high operating costs. Airlines were also concerned that the plan would drive up ticket prices.
Spirit Airlines personnel said as much in a public comment submitted this summer. The budget carrier recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a year and announced it plans to permanently suspend flight routes to 11 cities, starting Oct. 2.
When announcing the news about its business, Spirit took a shot at the Biden administration’s proposed airline compensation rule.
“There is no free lunch,” Spirit spokespeople said. “If every time a flight has to be cancelled due to, say, an aircraft maintenance issue, airlines were required to pay each affected passenger $300 plus hotel and meals, there would be a perverse incentive to cancel flights preemptively at any hint of trouble.”
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Industry trade association Airlines for America, soon to be led by former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, thanked the Trump administration for scrapping the Biden-era reimbursement plan.
“We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don’t solve issues important to our customers,” the group said.