Under new US Department of Transportation guidelines, airlines must now issue automatic refunds to passengers if flights are cancelled or drastically altered, a significant move for customers that may raise industry expenses.
The final regulations, announced Wednesday, detail the circumstances under which travellers are entitled to refunds for any travel to, from, and within the United States. The idea is to make it easier for passengers to get their money back and to ensure that refund procedures are similar across different airlines.

According to the agency, complaints about airlines and ticket agents refusing or delaying refunds accounted for 87% of all air-travel service complaints at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Travelers will also be reimbursed for checked luggage fees if the bag is lost and not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight’s gate arrival. International planes will have between 15 and 30 hours to retrieve a misplaced bag, depending on the duration.

Anyone who pays for a service, such as in-flight Wi-Fi or entertainment, but does not receive it will have their money refunded.