(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced new rules federal officials are working on which would require airlines to compensate passengers who are stranded and cover travelers’ expenses for amenities like meals, hotels and rebooking.
Under these rules, airlines, for the first time, would be required to pay compensation beyond a ticket refund.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.”
Currently, according to the Associated Press, if an airline cancels a flight, customers can get a refund of the unused part of their ticket and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, such as fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept a travel voucher instead, though.
No airline, however, guarantees cash compensation when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation, the Department of Transportation said.
“The Department’s rulemaking proposes to ensure that passengers experiencing controllable delays and cancellations are better protected from financial losses than is the case today,” a news release said.
Widespread flight disruptions last summer caused much. public scrutiny of airlines, and caused the Transportation Department to create FlightRights.Gov. This online dashboard was designed to pressure airlines to improve customer service and lets consumers check each airline’s policy on refunds and compensation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.