The Trump administration has said it will drop a Biden-era plan to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their expenses for lengthy delays or cancellations caused by carriers, a setback for aviation consumer protections.
The proposed federal rule, announced by the Biden administration in 2023, would have guaranteed passengers $200 to $775 as well as free meals, lodging and rebookings in cases where U.S. flight disruptions were caused by circumstances under airlines’ control, such as a mechanical issue or a system outage.
The proposal was opened for public comment last year, though there was no timeline for it to take effect. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Pete Buttigieg, his transportation secretary, promoted it as a game changer for travelers.
“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Mr. Buttigieg said in May 2023.
The proposal was popular with consumers, but airlines said it would drive up operating costs and ticket prices.
The Trump administration announced plans to withdraw the proposal in a brief regulatory notice published this week by a White House agency called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The notice said that the move was consistent with the priorities of the Trump administration and the Transportation Department.
Airlines for America, a trade group for the country’s biggest airlines, and FlyersRights.org, one of the largest U.S. organizations for airline passengers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Regulations similar to the proposal have been in place since 2004 in the European Union, where passengers have the right to a refund or a replacement flight in cases of cancellations or lengthy delays on flights from E.U. airports. A 2023 study found that European consumer rights regulations that put financial pressure on airlines to prevent flight disruptions had cut delays.
Airlines must refund passengers for canceled flights to, from or within the United States, but they are not required to compensate them for delays, the Transportation Department said in late 2024.
The Trump administration has rolled back consumer protections in other areas, including banking and health insurance.
Regulatory agencies designed to protect consumers, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, have also been impaired by firings, stop-work orders and pauses on investigations and lawsuits.
In aviation, the Transportation Department is considering easing other regulations, according to another regulatory notice by the Trump administration. Among the rules being reviewed are those that define what kinds of flight disruption entitle consumers to ticket refunds and timely bag delivery.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
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