Airlines must now provide cash refunds for delayed or canceled flights: DOT

The painful days of salary delays are finally over. .

Passengers no longer need to fear being stuck in a financial holding pattern if their flight is cancelled.

US airlines are now required to automatically reimburse passengers for tickets and other flight-related expenses if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed.

“Today, our automatic refund rules go into full effect,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced in a Monday post on X. “Airlines should provide cash refunds quickly without asking passengers.”

In doing so, they are making good on an instant refund policy that the Department of Transportation proposed in April to speed up the reimbursement process, increase transparency and protect against “hidden junk fees.”

While parts of the DOT's new policy were put in place as early as May, some provisions took longer to take effect due to their lead times, according to USA Today.

Under the new rules, passengers are entitled to automatic refunds without explicitly requesting them, and must process these refunds within seven days for credit card purchases and 20 days for other payment methods.

Previously, airlines were required to issue refunds if the passenger did not book an alternative flight with them, but the exact window for reimbursement was unclear.

Additionally, these refunds must be paid in full — minus the price of the flight already taken — to the original payment method “used to make the purchase, such as a credit card or airline miles.”

“Airlines may not substitute vouchers, travel credits or other forms of compensation unless the passenger affirmatively chooses to accept alternative compensation,” it reads.

According to the policy, a significant flight delay constitutes three hours for a domestic flight and six hours for an international trip — time limits that apply to both departure and arrival delays.

And flights aren't the only part of the trip that's subject to refunds. Under the new regulations, passengers who file mishandled baggage reports are eligible for a refund of their checked bag fee if the bag is lost and undelivered within 12 hours of arriving at the gate of a domestic flight.

Meanwhile, international flights, according to policy, will have 15 to 30 hours to return lost luggage, depending on their duration.

Said baggage fee should be disclosed on the airline's online platform along with the fare and schedule information and not through a hyperlink after they book.

This way, passengers can “avoid surprise fees when they purchase tickets from airlines or ticket agents, including both brick-and-mortar travel agencies or online travel agencies,” the policy says.

Finally, passengers are entitled to a refund for ancillary services that were not provided due to cancellation or other circumstances.

These include Wi-Fi, seat selection and inflight entertainment.