Federal Rules Require Airlines to Issue Refunds For ‘Controllable’ Flight Cancellations Or Delays

Newly enacted federal rules require airlines to issue refunds for "controllable" flight delays or cancellations.

Airline travelers have new protections this holiday season thanks to a recently enacted federal rule requiring airlines to issue delayed flights and luggage refunds.

Thursday was expected to be the busiest travel day of the week with 146,000 passengers, an airline spokesperson told KIRO 7. In light of recent U.S. Department of Transportation updates, passengers can now receive refunds when airlines cancel or make significant changes to their flights, experience major delays with checked bags, or do not deliver additional services that passengers had purchased.

The new rule mandates that airlines automatically issue cash refunds for flights that are delayed or canceled due to “controllable” factors. These factors include maintenance, crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading, and fueling issues. However, delays and cancellations caused by weather or air traffic control flow problems do not qualify for automatic refunds, as stated by the Department of Transportation.

Refund policies varied among airlines before the change that went into effect in October. However, the new rule eliminates this inconsistency by defining a significant delay as at least three hours for domestic and six hours for international flights.

Airlines can still offer another flight or travel credit; however, consumers can decline these offers. The new rule also mandates refunds for checked-bag fees if the bag is not delivered within 12 hours for domestic flights or within 15 to 30 hours for international travel.

“I like that a lot. Not being able to get refunds when your bag is lost is a big issue, and that’s a good policy,” said Jesse Lane, a passenger.

Although the changes have been communicated throughout the year leading up to when they went into effect, many travelers are still unaware of the new protections.

“I think that’s nice. But I didn’t know that was an option. I didn’t know that was available,” said traveler Nancy Astrup.

The Transportation Department requires airlines to issue automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled flights due to controllable factors and for “significant” delays. The new rules define a significant delay as lasting at least three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

Additionally, the new rules cover fees for services like seat selection or internet access if the airline fails to provide those services.