WASHINGTON (WABNEWS) – US President Joe Biden has announced that the government is preparing new regulations that will require airlines to give passengers additional compensation if they are responsible for delays or cancellations.
“My administration is taking steps to require all U.S. airlines to cover meals, hotels, taxis, rebooking fees, cash, miles and travel coupons if they are responsible for flight cancellations or delays,” he said. We will be proposing new rules,” he said. said in a statement to the press.
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So far, the only major airlines that offer travel vouchers in addition to the usual compensation such as meal vouchers and hotel accommodations if the difference from the original departure time is more than three hours are Alaska Airlines and JetBlue. Only two companies.
In such cases, only Alaska Airlines agrees to award miles. However, no domestic airline guarantees cash compensation.
“Passengers from Canada, the European Union and other regions are already receiving these compensations. And what do you know? Do they work? “The number of delays in the European Union has decreased by requiring compensation for .
The Democratic president said the administration would present the new regulations “later.”
new website
His announcement follows the launch of flightrights.gov, a new website that provides passengers with transparency about compensation for delays and cancellations, including information about companies offering cash, miles and travel tickets.
Mr Biden stressed that passengers’ time is “precious” and “worth more than reimbursement for the price of a ticket”.
“We are making progress, but more needs to be done to reverse decades of concentration of corporate power, continue to drive down prices and create more opportunities for families,” he said.
The transport ministry said in a statement that the planned restrictions are aimed at better protecting passengers from economic losses associated with flight cancellations and delays.
The announcement will be made the night before the summer season begins. And after Christmas last year, winter storm Elliott caused thousands of flight cancellations, particularly affecting Southwest Airlines.
Airline fines to hit record high in 2022
The Department of Transportation recalled that “record” fines imposed last year helped “hundreds of thousands of people” recover “hundreds of millions of dollars” in delays and cancellations.
Regulations outlined may require airlines to ‘proactively’ inform passengers of compensation available to passengers for changes of more than 3 hours on domestic flights and 6 hours on international flights There is
Similarly, if you are unable to travel due to COVID-19 or other contagious diseases, you may be asked to provide a travel voucher with no expiry date.
“The summer season puts a lot of strain on the system, so we need to keep working.[…]We are working to make our transportation system better for the American people.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters.
