The Biden plan for airline compensation to delayed passengers has been nixed by the Trump administration.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) says it will drop a Biden-era plan to require airlines to pay cash compensation and cover expenses for passengers who are impacted by flight delays and cancellations not related to weather.
The rule, which had not been fully implemented, was announced by the Biden administration in 2023. The DOT had outlined its plans in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), allowing the public—including trade associations representing the airlines—to offer comment on the DOT’s plans. Those trade associations, including the International Air Transport Association and the U.S. airline trade group Airlines 4 America, pushed back, saying that the Biden administration was attempting to wield regulatory authority it didn’t have.
The rule would have set specific requirements for airlines to provide cash compensation and cover expenses for what are termed “controllable” delays, such as those related to crew staffing, maintenance irregularities, or airline computer system outages. Delays for weather events, political unrest, or terrorism—causes deemed outside of airline control—would not be included in compensation requirements.
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In a statement to the New York Times, a DOT spokesperson said that the previous administration had overreached. “Some of the rules proposed or adopted by the previous administration went beyond what Congress has required by statute, and we intend to reconsider those extra-statutory requirements.”
The DOT, part of the Executive Branch of the federal government, enforces laws written by Congress by issuing regulations to support those laws. The transportation secretary—currently former Wisconsin Congressman and airline lobbyist Sean P. Duffy—sets department priorities, including direction on how the department should interpret the laws when creating regulations. The transportation secretary has historically been relatively non-partisan, and several presidents, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have nominated transportation secretaries from opposing parties.
Different administrations tend to interpret laws passed by Congress differently or prioritize enforcement efforts differently. Democratic administrations have historically favored consumer protection regulations, while Republican administrations have historically preferred to let market forces drive how airlines write their policies to compete with each other.
The NPRM issued by the DOT during the Biden Administration cites the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, passed by Congress in May of that year, as its statutory requirement, saying that “Section 512 of the 2024 FAA Act requires the Department to ‘direct all air carriers providing scheduled passenger interstate or intrastate air transportation to establish policies regarding reimbursement for lodging, transportation between such lodging and the airport, and meal costs incurred due to a flight cancellation or significant delay directly attributable to the air carrier.’”
That NPRM also noted that the act did not specifically outline what constituted a “delay directly attributable” to an airline. The DOT also noted that many airlines already include in their customer service commitments that they will provide passengers with accommodations and reimbursement for expenses—but not cash compensation—for controllable delays.
The U.S. airline industry was deregulated by an act of Congress in 1978, which prohibited the government from regulating airline scheduling and fares. The airline industry grew exponentially in subsequent decades as fares lowered and millions more passengers each year could afford to fly, but complaints about airline practices spurred later legislation prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices and regulating certain airline activities, like overbooking flights, and providing services for passengers with disabilities.
The 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, which authorizes funding for the FAA and provides statutory guidance for how the DOT should oversee passenger air carriers and other aviation operators, runs through 2028, when it will be again debated in Congress.
Several aviation regulators, including those in the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil, already require airlines to compensate passengers for lengthy flight delays or cancellations for reasons within the airlines’ control. The longest-standing regulation, in effect for over two decades in the European Union, is known colloquially as EU 261, and was cited as an example in the Biden-era NPRM.
Unlike the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, EU 261—legislation which was passed by the European Parliament—specifically prescribes the compensation to be issued and types of delays that do and do not qualify for compensation.
