The painful days of pay delays are finally over. .
Travelers now not have to fear getting stuck in a financial holding pattern should their flight get scrapped.
US airlines are actually required to issue passengers automatic refunds for tickets and other flight-related expenses should their flight get canceled or significantly delayed.
“Today, our automatic refund rule goes into full effect,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared in a Monday post on X. “Airlines are required to offer prompt money refunds without passengers having to ask.”
In doing so, they’re making good on an easy refund policy that the Department of Transportation proposed in April to expedite the reimbursement process, increase transparency, and protect against “hidden junk fees.”
While portions of DOT’s latest policy were instated as early as May, some provisions took longer to enter effect because of their lead times, per USA Today.
Under the brand new rules, passengers are entitled to automatic refunds sans having to explicitly request them, and these reimbursements should be processed inside seven days for bank card purchases, and 20 days for other payment methods.
Previously, airlines were required to present refunds, provided the passenger didn’t book alternative flights with them, but the precise window for reimbursement was ambiguous.
As well as, these refunds should be paid in full — minus the worth of flights already taken — to the unique type of payment “used to make the acquisition, comparable to bank card or airline miles,” per the policy.
“Airlines may not substitute vouchers, travel credits, or other types of compensation unless the passenger affirmatively chooses to simply accept alternative compensation,” it reads.
A major flight delay, per the policy, constitutes three hours for a domestic flight and 6 hours for a world itinerary — deadlines that apply each to departure and arrival delays.
And the flights aren’t the one portions of the trip which are subject to refunds. Under the brand new regulation, passengers who file mishandled baggage reports are eligible to get back their checked bag fees if the bag is lost and never delivered inside 12 hours of a domestic flight’s gate arrival.
International flights, meanwhile, can have 15 to 30 hours to return lost luggage, depending on their duration, per the policy.
Said baggage fee is to be disclosed together with the fare and schedule information on the airline’s online platform and never via a hyperlink after they’ve booked.
This fashion, passengers can “avoid surprise fees after they purchase tickets from airlines or ticket agents, including each brick-and-mortar travel agencies or online travel agencies,” the policy states.
Lastly, passengers are entitled to refunds for ancillary services that weren’t provided because of a cancellation or other circumstances.
These include Wi-Fi, seat selection, and inflight entertainment.
The painful days of pay delays are finally over. .
Travelers now not have to fear getting stuck in a financial holding pattern should their flight get scrapped.
US airlines are actually required to issue passengers automatic refunds for tickets and other flight-related expenses should their flight get canceled or significantly delayed.
“Today, our automatic refund rule goes into full effect,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared in a Monday post on X. “Airlines are required to offer prompt money refunds without passengers having to ask.”
In doing so, they’re making good on an easy refund policy that the Department of Transportation proposed in April to expedite the reimbursement process, increase transparency, and protect against “hidden junk fees.”
While portions of DOT’s latest policy were instated as early as May, some provisions took longer to enter effect because of their lead times, per USA Today.
Under the brand new rules, passengers are entitled to automatic refunds sans having to explicitly request them, and these reimbursements should be processed inside seven days for bank card purchases, and 20 days for other payment methods.
Previously, airlines were required to present refunds, provided the passenger didn’t book alternative flights with them, but the precise window for reimbursement was ambiguous.
As well as, these refunds should be paid in full — minus the worth of flights already taken — to the unique type of payment “used to make the acquisition, comparable to bank card or airline miles,” per the policy.
“Airlines may not substitute vouchers, travel credits, or other types of compensation unless the passenger affirmatively chooses to simply accept alternative compensation,” it reads.
A major flight delay, per the policy, constitutes three hours for a domestic flight and 6 hours for a world itinerary — deadlines that apply each to departure and arrival delays.
And the flights aren’t the one portions of the trip which are subject to refunds. Under the brand new regulation, passengers who file mishandled baggage reports are eligible to get back their checked bag fees if the bag is lost and never delivered inside 12 hours of a domestic flight’s gate arrival.
International flights, meanwhile, can have 15 to 30 hours to return lost luggage, depending on their duration, per the policy.
Said baggage fee is to be disclosed together with the fare and schedule information on the airline’s online platform and never via a hyperlink after they’ve booked.
This fashion, passengers can “avoid surprise fees after they purchase tickets from airlines or ticket agents, including each brick-and-mortar travel agencies or online travel agencies,” the policy states.
Lastly, passengers are entitled to refunds for ancillary services that weren’t provided because of a cancellation or other circumstances.
These include Wi-Fi, seat selection, and inflight entertainment.
