5 things to know about the new airline refund rules that come into effect on Monday

Travelers have long faced problems with delayed or canceled flights – and have often had to fight with airlines for compensation they believe they are entitled to.

But not anymore.

The U.S. Department of Transportation put into effect new rules on October 28 that require airlines to issue refunds to passengers when the airlines “cancel or significantly change their flights, significantly delay their checked baggage, or fail to provide the additional services they have bought. .” The regulation was developed under President Joe Biden’s administration and announced in April.

Many consumer advocates have welcomed the initiative.

“This is long overdue,” Cleveland-based consumer advocate Danny Karon told MarketWatch. “Some of these new airline refund rules aren’t the most revolutionary, but they are certainly all pro-passenger and passengers needed some tailwind when it came to how to interact with the airlines.”

What do you need to know about the new rules? Read more…

The important thing to understand is that the rules require airlines to automatically issue refunds when problems arise — in other words, passengers don’t have to “explicitly request them or jump through hoops,” according to the DOT. This is on the condition that passengers do not accept alternative transport or travel credit from the airlines.

Certainly, flight cancellations qualify. But this also applies to important changes to a flight. The DOT describes these changes as follows: departure or arrival times delayed by more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally; departure or arrival from another airport; increase in the number of connections; cases where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different aircraft that are less accessible or accommodating for a person with a disability.