If your flight is canceled or delayed, do you deserve a meal voucher or refund? It hasn’t always been easy to find out, but the Department of Transportation now spells it out for travelers with an interactive dashboard.
The tool, launched on the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection website in September, shows side-by-side what each airline offers travelers when flights are canceled or significantly delay for reasons within their control, like maintenance issues, staffing shortages, or delays in cleaning, fueling or baggage handling.
Airlines are not required to offer compensation for delays outside their control, like severe weather or air traffic control issues.
Here’s what air travelers should know:
Flight cancellations and delays:What you need to know and what airlines owe travelers
What caused the NOTAM system to go offline:FAA provides an update
What happens when a flight is canceled?
DOT rules already require airlines to offer customers a refund if their flights are canceled for any reason, but each airline’s policy can vary when guests choose to rebook and what else they might be entitled to beyond a refund in the event of certain kinds of cancellations.
For example, if American Airlines cancels a flight for “controllable” reasons, according to the dashboard, it’s committed to rebooking passengers on the same, or another airline at no additional cost; providing a meal or meal voucher when the cancellation results in a passenger waiting for three hours…
