Airlines throughout the United States are now required to provide automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights.
The Transportation Department’s automatic refund rule ensures that passengers receive prompt cash refunds without having to request them, for both canceled or significantly delayed flights and for services that were not provided, such as Wi-Fi or entertainment.
The big picture: Under this new rule, a significant delay is defined as lasting at least three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.
- Passengers who bought tickets using a credit card must be refunded within seven business days, while those who used a different payment method should receive refunds within 20 calendar days.
- The regulation also covers refunds for checked bag fees if the bag is lost and not returned within a certain timeframe after the flight’s gate arrival.
What they’re saying: “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them – without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on X. “Today, our automatic refund rule goes into full effect. Airlines are required to provide prompt cash refunds without passengers having to ask.”
