For a while, US flyers were on track to join travelers in places like Europe and Canada. Airlines are standard when the airline cancels or delays a flight for reasons considered within control. For example, mechanical issues, shortages of personnel, system outages, etc. Rules finalised in the last few months of President Joe Biden’s administration would have required airlines to pay cash depending on whether the delay was more than three hours. This is a drastic protection modeled after the European compensation system and has long been considered the gold standard for passenger rights.
Now it’s on track to be demolished. The Trump administration said it plans to roll back the rules entirely, citing regulatory overreach and the need to stick to requirements mandated by Congress. This move will bring the US back from where it began. Airlines decide, if anything, primarily for themselves, to provide travelers when the mess attacks.
How did you get here?
Biden-era regulations continued into a chaotic travel season, where factors such as post-pandemic staffing and technology-related issues saw widespread cancellations. The cancellation was stranded by travelers, especially during the same year’s holiday meltdown as the summer of 2022. At the time, the Department of Transport (DOT) argued that stronger protection was needed to hold airlines accountable and restore consumer confidence.
The rules established by the DOT aimed at compensating to be automated. Passengers do not need to fill out long billing forms or negotiate with customer service. Instead, payments and rebooking are caused whenever the disruption is the airline’s fault.
The airlines have fought against the measures from the start, warning that mandated payments will raise costs and ultimately increase fares. And they quickly praised the decision to roll back. US trade group Airlines, which represents all major US carriers, including US Airlines, Delta, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have allowed Biden-era requirements to raise ticket prices and add red tape.
“We are encouraged by this Department of Transport to consider unnecessary and burdensome regulations that go beyond its authority and do not resolve issues that are important to our customers,” the group said in a September 4th statement.
For consumer advocates, rollback is a gut punch. This protection has been billed as the most important victory for US flyers in decades, creating automatic rewards rather than making travelers fight for a refund after the facts. Without them, passengers will remain left behind in flight delays and cancellations. You must negotiate with a customer service agent.
Former Transport Secretary Pete Battigigue, who defended the original rules, responded to a social media reversal. He pointed to the dot leadership of the Trump administration seen by former airline lobbyist Sean Duffy as evidence of industry shaking. “We’ve put on a lobbyist for the airline that’s responsible for the Department of Transport, so this isn’t a surprise,” Buttigieg said in X.
The meaning of rollbacks for travelers
For now, US passengers remain:
- Refunds for cancelled flights: This requirement still exists, but travelers must contact the airline to ensure that the refund is processed.
- Credit Card Travel Protection or Third Party Travel Insurance: If the airline does not cover the costs incurred from flight delays or cancellations, travelers should investigate the options they have through credit card or purchased travel insurance.
If Biden-era rules are not successful, airlines are left to implement their own policies on delayed flights. This means that, like in the case of high-tech issues or suspensions, even if the delay is clearly a fault of the airline, the flyer can still be found to remain uncompensated. The most reliable way to mitigate these risks is to book with a credit card that includes travel insurance or buy alternative travel insurance coverage.
For airlines, rollbacks remove the looming financial and logistical burdens. It reminds us that in the US, airline rights remain limited and inconsistent. Unless Congress acts, American flyers will be left to dodge themselves once again. They are reviving the app, lining up customer service desks and hoping that their next flight will start on time.
