by In the United States, airlines are now required to provide cash refunds to passengers if their flight is significantly delayed or canceled, even if that person does not explicitly request a refund.
The Department of Transportation said the latest federal rule requiring airlines to hand out refunds — not vouchers — took effect Monday. The major change is being implemented just a month before the start of what will likely be a huge holiday travel season.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the announcement on X after first introducing the proposed rule in April. “Today our automatic refund rule goes into full effect,” Buttigieg posted. “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them, without hassle or haggling.”
The new rule requires that refunds be automatically processed by an airline if a passenger’s flight is “cancelled or significantly changed, and they do not accept the significantly changed flight, rebook on an alternative flight or alternative compensation”.
The Department of Transportation says airlines must then refund a passenger within seven business days if they purchased a ticket with a credit card and within 20 calendar days if they used another payment method.
This decision was met with resistance from the airline industry. In July, Buttigieg told airlines they must make it clear to passengers when they are eligible for a refund.
In a statement, industry lobby Airlines for America said, “We support the automatic refund rule and are happy to offer a refund to customers when they choose not to rebook.”
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