Visitors at LaGuardia Airport in New York on June 30, 2022.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
The Department of Transportation on Wednesday proposed stricter regulations on when airlines will have to compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights, a move that has led to an increase Complaints from tourists after Covid-19 Rolled air travel.
Airline travelers are now entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or changed or “significantly” delayed and they choose not to travel. But the agency has not determined what constitutes a significant change.
The Department of Transport is currently proposing to define it as a departure or arrival time of at least three hours for domestic flights or at least six hours for international flights. Travelers will also receive a refund if routes change or if connections are added, as well as if changing planes causes a “significant downgrade” in amenities or other features.
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg has publicly warned airlines in recent weeks about the rise in flight cancellations and delays, while industry executives and the Federal Aviation Administration have warned pointed finger who to blame.
Some Democratic lawmakers have called for better consumer protection for airliners.
Complaints about airline refunds accounted for 87% of the 102,560 complaints the DOT recorded in 2020 and about 60% of the 49,958 complaints in 2021.
The DOT also proposes to require airlines to provide credits or flight vouchers with no expiration date if passengers are unable to fly because of Covid-19, including plane lockouts, travel restrictions or health reasons. individual.
“When Americans buy airline tickets, they should arrive at their destination safely, reliably, and affordably,” Buttigieg said in a press release.
Airlines for the US, representing major airlines such as American, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and others, declined to comment.
The pandemic and plummeting demand for air travel have prompted some airlines to make their tickets more flexible. For example: American, United and Delta, ticket exchange fee has been removed for standard economy class tickets in 2020.
And last week, Southwest, which also didn’t charge a pre-pandemic redemption fee, said the vouchers it issues will never expire.
The DOT’s proposed rules are open to public comment for 90 days.
