Trump administration ditches Biden plan to compensate travelers for airline delays

The Trump administration has officially withdrawn a proposal that would have compensated airline passengers for significant delays caused by issues within a carrier’s control.

Though the move was announced in September, the Transportation Department formalized it in the Federal Register on Monday. It said it was withdrawing the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking submitted under President Joe Biden in December.

Under the Biden-era plan, passengers would have received reimbursements based on how long delays lasted. The scale began at $200 and went up to $775 for delays that lasted at least nine hours.

The proposal, which was never enacted, would have aligned U.S. regulation more closely with airline rules in Europe.

A spokesperson for the department said last week that the Biden-era proposal “does not reflect the compensation consumers are currently entitled to with respect to delays and cancellations.”

“These actions are part of our broader effort to ensure the traveling public is treated fairly while also recognizing how overly burdensome regulations will raise ticket prices for the traveling public and compromise safety for the sake of efficiency,” the spokesperson said.

According to the Federal Register, airlines and airline associations urged the Transportation Department to abandon the plan and insisted that deregulation is what leads to improved service. Consumer groups and “hundreds of individual commenters” supported the plan as it covered the cost of flight disruptions, as well as the added struggles for passengers with disabilities.

The department ultimately decided that added regulation “does not correspond with the policies and priorities of the Department and Administration,” the notice said. It said some airlines already offer some redress to customers for cancellations or significant delays, including free rebooking options.

But while some airlines might cover costs incurred in additional meals, lodging or transportation, no U.S. airline has a policy requiring cash compensation for delays.

Airline data submitted to the Transportation Department found that over 60% of three-hour or longer domestic flight delays in 2022 and 2023 were “airline-caused.”

The proposal was withdrawn after a government shutdown lasting more than 40 days placed strain on an already stressed air traffic control system. To cope with the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut flights up to 6% to relieve the pressure from ongoing staffing issues.

Its plan originally would have reduced operations up to 10% on Friday, but the shutdown ended Wednesday. Airports across the country resumed normal operations Monday.

Next week is expected to be one of the busiest times of the year for travel, with AAA projecting that 82 million people will be on the move from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 as they travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

AAA expects more people will choose to travel by car after weeks of chaos at airports.