The Biden administration is working on new rules that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they become stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce on Monday the start of the rulemaking process. The rulemaking pledge continues a push by the Democratic administration to require airlines to improve customer service, and it comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season.
The rules aim to, for the first time, require airlines to pay compensation that exceeds ticket refunds and cover expenses consumers must bear, including rebooking on another flight if the airline causes a cancellation or significant delay. Will happen. “When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement.
Cancellations due to the airline include flights cleared for mechanical issues with the aircraft or crew shortages. Airlines for America, which represents the largest carriers, said in a statement that there is no incentive for airlines to delay or cancel flights. The trade group said more than half of cancellations in 2022 and 2023 are due to “extreme weather” or air traffic control outages.
“The carriers have taken responsibility for the challenges under their control and continue to work diligently to improve operational reliability,” the group said, “including hiring more workers and reducing their schedules.”
Airlines paid tens of thousands of workers to lay off or retire early after the pandemic hit, according to Department of Transportation data, but they have added nearly 118,000 workers since November 2020 and now have more than before the pandemic. has 5% more employees.
There is no certainty whether the Department of Transportation will publish final rules about the new compensation for commuters. The rule-making process can take months or even years.
Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can seek a refund of the unused portion of their ticket plus some extras they may have paid to the airline, such as the ability to check bags or get seat assignments. fee for. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept travel vouchers in exchange for refunds.
Following widespread flight disruptions last summer, the Department of Transportation posted an online dashboard designed to pressure airlines to improve customer service. The site lets consumers check each airline’s policy on refunds and compensation if flights are canceled or delayed.
Each of the 10 largest US airlines quickly pledged to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for another flight. Nine out of 10 — all except Frontier Airlines — also pledged to pay for accommodation for stranded passengers overnight.
Questions resurfaced about reimbursing consumers for out-of-pocket costs after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights during a December slump in service. The Departments of Transportation and Justice are investigating whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it actually operated.
The Department for Transport says it is working with airlines to reduce cancellations and delays this summer, when air travel could exceed pre-coronavirus pandemic records.
A report last month by the Congressional Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for a surge in cancellations as air travel begins to recover in 2021 and early 2022. The Federal Aviation Administration has also faced disruptions due to technology outages and staffing shortages. The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from New York’s major airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a major facility.