Will New Travel Rules Be in Place by Summer to Aid Passengers Amid Delays and Cancellations?

Americans are no strangers to flight delays and cancellations, which can lead to frustration and chaos for stranded passengers.

Each airline has its own policy about covering expenses like meals and hotels. However, earlier this week, the Department of Transportation proposed new rules that could be a game-changer.

These new rules aim to address four key areas:

1. Ensuring travelers get compensated when airlines cause cancellations or significant delays that they can control.
2. Offering meals, a place to stay overnight, transportation, and rebooking when these controllable delays or cancellations happen.
3. Ensuring airlines provide quick and helpful customer service during and after widespread flight issues.
4. Defining exactly what counts as a controllable cancellation or delay.

When asked if there is a chance these changes could be in place by the summer, Teresa Murray, a Consumer Watchdog at the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, said, "Absolutely not. I mean, best case scenario, like really, really optimistically, it could be by the end of the summer."

Both the public and the airlines will have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed rules.

Murray added, "So we're talking months. Best case scenario would be like if they fast-tracked it, they could have these rules adopted by the end of the summer. But I think that is optimistic. I think it'll be more likely later on this year."

According to an analysis by the Consumer Watchdog of data from the Department of Transportation, airline complaints quadrupled between 2019 (15,342) and 2022 (60,732).

Getting a refund was the leading headache for travelers, representing 29% of complaints from January to November 2022. Cancellations, delays, and schedule reshuffles made up 26% of the complaints. 

In addition to the proposed rules, the DOT expanded the Airline Customer Service Dashboard, which now gives travelers a better picture of what airlines currently offer when they're responsible for cancellations or delays.

The ten largest airlines guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline, and nine guarantee hotel accommodations. However, no airline offers guaranteed cash for significant delays or cancellations they cause.

Airlines for America, a trade association that advocates on behalf of the airline industry, tells NBC 6 Responds that U.S. airlines prioritize safety and have no incentive to delay or cancel flights.

The trade association also mentioned that airlines are working to improve operational reliability by hiring more staff, reducing schedules to alleviate pressure on the national airspace system, and accommodating record demand with fewer flights than in 2019.