Travelers looking to secure compensation after a flight delay or cancellation will have even fewer protections after a new federal rule comes into effect next month.
The revision will move 10 specific events outside the realm of an air carrier’s responsibility, meaning they will likely face less pressure to provide compensation, such as free meals or hotel vouchers, to inconvenienced passengers.
Federal law requires refunds for certain flight disruptions, but other forms of compensation are governed by airlines’ internal procedures. And those policies often hinge on whether the cause of the disruption is within the company’s control, such as a maintenance issue, or external, such as bad weather.
Regulators said the new classification system is fairer to airlines and spares them the “negative reputational impacts” that come with being held directly responsible for delays or cancellations. The rule was included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and will take effect Oct. 19.
The 10 circumstances that will no longer be considered under the airline’s control are:
Aircraft cleaning necessitated by the death of a passenger;
Aircraft damage caused by extreme weather, foreign object debris, or sabotage;
A baggage or cargo loading delay caused by an outage of a bag system not controlled by a carrier or its contractor;
Cybersecurity attacks (provided that the air carrier is in compliance with applicable cybersecurity regulations);
A shutdown or system failure of government systems that directly affects the ability of an air carrier to conduct flights safely and is unexpected;
Overheated brakes due to a safety incident resulting in the use of emergency procedures;
Unscheduled maintenance, including in response to an airworthiness directive, manifesting outside a scheduled maintenance program that cannot be deferred or must be addressed before flight;
An emergency that required medical attention through no fault of the carrier;
The removal of an unruly passenger;
An airport closure due to the presence of volcanic ash, wind, or wind shear.
In a note published in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Transportation acknowledged that customers will lose out on potential compensation for delays and cancellations because carriers will be held blameless.
“In addition to the benefits and cost savings of the final rule, it is expected that the total value of amenities and compensation currently provided by air carriers to consumers will be reduced under this final rule because of the 10 delineated causes of delay and cancellation that will now be excluded from the Air Carrier category in 14 CFR 234.4,” the note states.
The DOT said the new rule is best described as a “transfer of value from consumers back to air carriers.” The department did not attach a figure to the likely financial impact on travelers.
