President Donald Trump’s Transportation Department, or DOT, said it plans to roll back a Biden-era plan that sought to require airlines to compensate stranded passengers with cash, lodging, and meals for flight cancellations or changes caused by a carrier.
Under the Biden Administration, rulemaking was launched to protect passengers stranded when airlines canceled flights or significantly changing their flights.
An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or ANPRM, was issued to seek public comment on requiring airlines to pay passengers cash compensation, rebook them for free on the next available flight, and cover meals, overnight lodging, and related transportation expenses when a disruption is airline-caused, such as a mechanical issue or an IT airline system breakdown.
In a regulatory filing last Thursday, the DOT said “Consistent with Department and administration priorities, the Department plans to withdraw the ANPRM.”
“Experiencing flight delays and cancellations is extremely frustrating, and it is also expensive when you have to suddenly shell out hundreds of dollars for a hotel, transportation, meals, and rebooking fees,” Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for Consumer Federation of America, an consumer advocacy organization, said in a statement.
The Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda admitted Thursday that it wouldn’t move forward with a rule that would simply require airlines to compensate consumers for unexpected costs, even when the flight disruptions were within the airline’s control, Witte said.
“This is a massive step backwards that will only continue to make flying a miserable experience,” she said.
