President Joe Biden’s administration is working on new regulations that will require airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays and cancellations.
The announcement was made by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a live report by Brooke Zauner from Fox 5 Atlanta at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The White House aims to hold airlines accountable and ensure they accept their responsibility to better serve passengers.
The proposed regulations, set to be introduced later this year, would make it mandatory for all US airlines to provide compensation for certain flight delays and cancellations.
Passengers would be eligible for reimbursement of expenses such as hotels, taxis, ride shares, rebooking fees, and food.
The plan covers delays and cancellations caused by mechanical or staffing issues but does not include air traffic control problems.
The need for these regulations arises from the numerous delays and cancellations experienced by passengers during the previous summer, as well as the large number of flights canceled by Southwest Airlines during the Christmas holiday.
The goal of the regulations is to ensure that airlines are held accountable when they make mistakes and to provide better service to passengers.
Airlines for America, an organization representing major air carriers, released a statement suggesting that airlines have no incentive to delay or cancel flights.
They claimed that most cancellations in 2022 and 2023 were due to weather issues or air traffic problems.
The development of these regulations will be closely monitored, and further updates will be provided.
Brooke Zauner’s live report from the Atlanta airport concludes the coverage of this story.
