Transportation Department proposes stricter guidelines for airline refunds after complaints surge

The Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed stricter guidelines on when airways must compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights, a transfer that follows a surge in traveler complaints after Covid-19 roiled air journey.

Air vacationers are presently entitled to a refund if their flights are canceled or “significantly” modified or delayed they usually select to not journey. But the company had not outlined what constitutes a major change.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is now proposing to outline that as a departure or arrival time that is off by at the very least three hours for home flights, or at the very least six hours for worldwide flights. Travelers would even be entitled to a refund if the routing modifications or if a connection is added, in addition to if a change in plane causes a “significant downgrade” in facilities or different options.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has publicly admonished airways in current weeks over an uptick in flight cancellations and delays, whereas airline executives and the Federal Aviation Administration have pointed fingers over who’s accountable.

Some Democratic lawmakers have known as for higher shopper protections for air vacationers.

Complaints about airline refunds accounted for 87% of the 102,560 complaints the DOT logged in 2020 and about 60% of the 49,958 complaints in 2021.

The DOT additionally proposed requiring airways to present flight credit or vouchers with out expiration dates if passengers cannot fly due to Covid-19, together with lockdowns, journey restrictions or private well being causes.

“When Americans buy an airline ticket, they should get to their destination safely, reliably, and affordably,” Buttigieg mentioned in a information launch.

Airlines for America, which represents massive airways like American, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and others, declined to remark.

The pandemic and plunge in air journey demand prompted some airways to make their tickets extra versatile. For instance, American, United and Delta, removed ticket-change charges for normal financial system tickets in 2020.

And final week, Southwest, which did not cost ticket-change charges earlier than the pandemic both, mentioned the vouchers it points won’t ever expire.

The DOT’s proposed guidelines are open to public remark for 90 days.