New rules established by the Department of Transportation
(DOT) assert that airlines will soon need to instantly refund passengers upon flight
cancelations, delays, or making significant changes; regardless of the reasons.
The refund, DOT states, will be required to be done in the
form of cash or the original form of payment, and not vouchers. Passengers
could also be offered alternatives such as travel credit, other transportation options,
or another flight offered by the airline.
DOT highlights “significant changes” as some specific situations, in which cases passengers will be expected to be refunded. These scenarios can be, for instance, changes in the flight’s arrival or departure time by three or more hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights, or a change in the departure or arrival airport.
In addition to these rules, airlines will also be required
to refund for passengers’ baggage fee in case their paid checked bags are significantly
delayed. In such a situation, the passenger will first need to file a
mishandled baggage report and if they don’t receive their luggage within 12
hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate (15–30 hours in case of international
flight), they will be refunded.
Another refund rules applies to absence of delivery of paid
in-flight extras, (such as seat assignments, Wi-Fi, and entertainment). And airlines
must let passengers know the additional fees for checked bags, cancelling
reservations and other things, before they purchase their tickets.
DOT’s new policies are expected to come into effect over a
span of 6 -12 months from now.
