The Biden administration on Monday said it plans to force airlines to compensate passengers if flights are delayed or canceled for avoidable reasons.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg framed the push as part of an ongoing process to improve air travel service as Americans return to the skies with a vengeance after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement.
The rules would require airlines to pay compensation and to cover expenses that consumers incur, including rebooking flights, food and lodging, if the airline cancels or significantly delays their flight.
That would be a big upgrade from current regulations which only require refunds for canceled flights, which is often a small portion of what passengers need to spend to get to where they are going.
Airlines often point the finger at weather or mechanical issues for delays or cancellations.
But advocates for travelers say airlines roll the dice with overly ambitious schedules and stretching staff and equipment to the breaking point, making widespread problems inevitable.
The Transportation Department last year created an online dashboard designed to help consumers compare airline policies on cancellations and delays of more than three hours.
All 10 of the largest U.S. airlines quickly promised to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for another flight.
Nine of the 10 vowed to pay for hotel accommodation for passengers stranded overnight, with budget carrier Frontier balking.
But only six of the big carriers agreed to rebook stranded passengers for free on other partner airlines, a loophole that can cause inconvenience and serious extra costs.
And just two airlines, JetBlue and Alaska, committed to offering refunds to anyone whose flight is delayed by three hours or more.
The cost to travelers for airline-caused delays became an even bigger issue when Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights during a December meltdown that forced stranded passengers to drive cross-country or book pricey alternative flights at the last minute.
The Transportation Department says it is working with the airlines to reduce cancellations and delays this summer, when U.S. air travel numbers are expected to break pre-pandemic records.
A report last month from the congressional Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for many cancellations, but the Federal Aviation Administration has also created disruptions due to technology outages and staffing shortages. The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from major New York airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a key facility.