The government of US President Joe Biden announced Monday that it is drafting new rules to force airlines to compensate passengers for major flight delays or cancellations where carriers are liable.
This is the latest in a series of decisions by the Government of Biden to toughen measures against airlines and strengthen passenger protection on domestic and international flights departing from or arriving in the United States.
“When an airline causes a flight to be canceled or delayed, passengers do not have to pay the bill”, said in a statement the Secretary of Transportation of the United States, Pete Buttigieg.
The Department of Transportation did not specify how much money it intends to require airlines to pay passengers for significant delays, but last year it asked airlines if they would agree to pay at least $100 for delays of at least three hours for which they were responsible.
Still, the rules could take years to write and finalize, and some airlines are privately wondering if the department has the legal authority to impose compensation for delays.
A July 2021 proposal to force airlines to refund consumers fees for delayed baggage or for inflight services like Wi-Fi not working has yet to come to fruition.
The Department of Transportation said it plans to draft a rule that would force airlines to cover expenses such as meals and hotels if they are responsible for flight problems.
Most companies voluntarily pledged in August to provide hotels or meals, but resisted offering cash compensation for delays.
The Biden administration has opposed family seat fees, investigated 10 airlines for failing to refund tickets, pushed Southwest Airlines to do more after a holiday crash led to more than 16,000 flight cancellations, and proposed other new consumer protections.
The department clarified on a government website Monday that no US airlines have agreed to offer cash compensation for delayed or canceled flights under the carriers’ control.
The Biden government has sparred with US airlines over who was to blame for hundreds of thousands of flight disruptions last year.
Airlines for Americawhich represents Delta Air Lines , United Airlines, American Airlines, and others, stated that local airlines “have no incentive to delay or cancel a flight and do everything in their power to ensure that flights depart and arrive on time, but safety is always the top priority.”
US airlines point out that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledges that it does not have enough air traffic control personnel and is operating 10% fewer flights than in 2019 to reduce pressure on the system.
There is no legal requirement for airlines to compensate American passengers for delayed or canceled flights, but the European Union and some other countries require compensation of up to 600 euros ($663) for major delays.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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