U.S. Airlines Now Owe You Automatic Refunds. Here’s How to Get Them.

13.11.2024 - 17:47 / afar.com / Pete Buttigieg

Getting your money back after an airline cancels your flight is now easier than ever—and, in most cases, passengers don’t even have to do anything to receive refunds.

New Department of Transportation rules that were issued in April 2024 are now in effect, with significant changes in how airlines must handle customer refunds for flight cancellations, delays, and other disruptions. The new regulations also set clear standards around what constitutes a delayed flight, as well as the time frame in which refunds must be provided (within 20 days).

All of which represents a major victory for air travelers.

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said when the rules were first issued in April. “Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.”

Here’s what else to know about the new rules, which went into effect on October 28, 2024.

All customers are now entitled to automatic refunds of their original payment when an airline cancels a flight for any reason. This should pave the way for a much more straightforward and transparent refund process in the United States. (In Europe, a consumer protection law known as “Regulation EC 261-2004,” which has been in place since 2004, entitles passengers up to €600 for flight disruptions.)

U.S. airlines were required to offer refunds for flight cancellations “long before” the new rules went into effect, according to Teresa Murray, Consumer Watchdog director at U.S. PIRG, a consumer advocacy nonprofit. But airlines have been notorious for complicating that process by pushing customers to accept a voucher or flight credit (usually valid only for a year from the issue date) or forcing passengers who instead demanded a payment refund to call the customer service line or fill out an online form.

“Airlines were allowed to do and often did two things: one, push vouchers [and] credits, and two, slow-walk the refunds for anyone who insisted on a refund,” Murray told Afar.

Now, passengers will get a refund of their original payment if they choose not to accept any automatic rebooking of the canceled (or significantly delayed) flight. Refunds must be made in full via credit card or cash (whichever form of original payment the passenger used), less the cost of any flight segments already flown.

Any “significant change” now entitles passengers to a refund—and, for the first time, there’s a set standard for what that means. A significant change is defined by the DOT as:

Additionally, passengers with a disability can get a refund if an airline changes a flight to include a different airport or aircraft that is less accessible.

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