Thousands of travelers trying to make it to their loved ones for the holidays were stuck at airports through much of Tuesday after American Airlines briefly grounded all its flights in the United States because of a technical issue and bad weather made those delays worse.
DOT proposes compensation for flight delays, but Trump administration will get final say
05.12.2024 - 12:41 / thepointsguy.com / Pete Buttigieg / Donald Trump
Even as the Biden administration prepares to leave office in just over a month, it's getting the ball rolling on possible new rules that could mean compensation for passengers when a flight is canceled, changed delayed and it's the airline's fault.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking Thursday that would require carriers to compensate passengers at least $200 when their flight is disrupted by three hours or more, in cases where the disruption is deemed the airline's responsibility.
Passengers could be eligible for higher compensation levels when there's a longer disruption.
The proposed rules, if ultimately finalized, would bring U.S. passenger rights more closely in line with those afforded to consumers across the Atlantic under the provision known as EU261.
"This action we're announcing is another step forward into a better era for commercial air travel—where the flying public is better protected and passengers aren't expected to bear the cost of disruptions caused by airlines," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement announcing the news.
Here's the catch, though: Thursday's notice of proposed rulemaking only starts the consideration process for the potential passenger compensation rules. At a minimum, the public would get 60 days to weigh in before the DOT would take any further action.
60 days from now, it will be early February — and the nation will be weeks into the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
That means the incoming Trump administration would, ultimately, have the final say on how — and whether — to proceed.
Related: Airlines face Capitol Hill grilling over rising add-on fees and 'bag bounties'
The DOT's proposed compensation rules would call on airlines to pay at least $200 to passengers whose trip is disrupted by three to six hours for a domestic flight. This could apply to cases where there's a delay, a cancellation, or when the airline significantly changes a traveler's itinerary.
Passengers facing disruptions of between six and nine hours could be compensated at least $375, with payments of at least $750 for passengers whose trips are delayed by nine hours or more.
The DOT also announced it's considering formalizing passenger protections for meals, unexpected hotel stays and ground transportation costs in the event of flight disruptions — as well as rules for rebooking passengers on the next available flight.
These compensation requirements would apply in the event of "controllable" disruptions — in other words, flight problems deemed to be the airline's responsibility (think maintenance and tech outages, but not bad weather).
Several of the largest U.S. airlines have already promised coverage for
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