Goodbye to not receiving money for canceled flights – Automatic refund announced from now on

With the holidays coming up and millions of Americans gearing up to travel to their hometowns to see families, the concern over cancelled flights has been brought to the forefront of everyone’s mind. But there are good news for the weary travelers, the Biden Administration has implemented a new rule which would force airlines to automatically give cash refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights.

The new rule, which went into effect this week is meant to streamline the complaint process over cancelled flights, as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explained “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling.”

The new rule for flight refunds

Of course, not every circumstance will warrant a refund, but the U.S. Department of Transportation released in April the guidelines that would govern these new automatic refunds rule and the specific circumstances in which airlines must provide refunds without passengers having to ask for them.

This standardization of the rule is a big step forward in customer satisfaction care as prior to the implementation of this new rule each airline had a specific set of policies and standards that dictated when a passenger was warranted a refund. This meant that each airline could offer or refuse compensation at will and made it difficult for “passengers to know or assert their refund rights,” according to statements by the DOT.

In this new flight travel era, passengers will be entitled to an automatic cash refund if an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight, significantly delays their checked bags or fails to provide the extra services they purchased. Failure to comply will result in fines taken against the airline.

If these rules seem a bit overarching is because they we have not yet explained the nuance. For example, in the case of canceled or significantly changed flights, an automatic refund is not the first solution that airlines must offer. They can offer to move passengers to a later slot, alternative transportation vouchers or travel credits. But if a passenger refuses to accept these accommodations, a full refund must be issued.

This new policy defines a “significant change” in flight as a situation where a flight’s departure or arrival time is altered by more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally, according to the DOT. Changes in departure or arrival airports, an increase in the number of connections or connections at different airports are also covered in this definition as they can significantly alter the passenger’s itinerary and they may not wish to continue with this plan.

The rules also contemplate cases in which a passenger is downgraded to a lower class of service or if flights are switched to planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability. These cases also merit compensation as the flight experience purchased and the one received are not comparable.

Lost baggage has also been a problem that airlines have not dealt with well over the past few years, mishandled and damaged luggage has been a constant source of complaints, but the most outrageous part has been the delay in baggage arrival. The new rule states that “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.”

This deadline is extended for international flight to accommodate for time differences and the lack of daily direct planes for some destinations, but passengers will still be entitled to a refund if the bag doesn’t arrive between 15 and 30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.

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