Airline Passengers Are Facing Huge FAA Delays & Here Are The US Rules For Compensation
An FAA glitch caused so many problems!
Southwest Airlines passengers waiting after a flight cancelation.
The U.S. experienced thousands of flight delays and cancellations in the early hours of Wednesday because of a major Federal Aviation Administration computer outage, and that has some people wondering if they'll be paid back for the inconvenience.
Flights across the country were halted because of a failure with the FAA's Notice to Air Missions System (NOTAMS), the agency said on Twitter.
The failure forced the FAA to ground many flights across the U.S. on Wednesday morning, which added up to thousands of delays and cancellations. The FAA wasn't immediately sure what went wrong, but things were slowly getting back to normal later in the morning.
However, the glitch means tens of thousands of passengers in the U.S. were facing some major delays leaving many of them with one question: am I going to be compensated for this?
The U.S. does have rules for delayed or cancelled flights. Here's how an FAA glitch fits into those rules.
Am I eligible for compensation if my flight is delayed by the FAA glitch?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, passengers are not entitled to money or other compensation when a flight is delayed.
“There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed,” says the site for the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers.”
The site adds that some problems, including air traffic delays and mechanical issues, are "hard to predict and often beyond the airlines' control."
Some airlines might provide their passengers with meals or a hotel stay, but this is not the case for all airlines.
Can I get a refund if my flight is delayed?
In some cases, airlines can provide refunds to passengers who have experienced significant delays.
“In some situations, you may be entitled to a refund, including a refund for all optional fees associated with the purchase of your ticket,” explained the DOT.
The issue with this however is that the DOT hasn’t exactly defined what counts as a “significant delay,” so it’s up to the airlines and DOT to decide if you are eligible for a refund depending on the “length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances.”
Airlines are only required to compensate you by law when they bump you from a flight that is oversold.
What happens if my flight is cancelled?
Most of the time when a flight is cancelled, the airline will just rebook passengers for the next flight with available seats to their destination.
If a passenger decides that being rebooked is not worth it and they'd rather outright cancel the booking, then they are “entitled to a refund for the unused transportation – even for non-refundable tickets.”
The refunds also include baggage fees and any other extra fees the passenger paid, the DOT says.
Will I get a free hotel room, cab fare, food voucher or reimbursement in the case of a cancellation?
The simple answer is: no.
“Airlines are not required to provide passengers with money or other compensation for costs that fall outside of the cancelled airline ticket and fees tied directly to the airline ticket (such as baggage fees, seat upgrades, etc.) when flights are cancelled,” according to the DOT.
Are airlines required to reimburse me if I missed my other travel plans due to the cancellation?
There are no requirements for airlines to reimburse passengers for affected travel plans “such as a prepaid hotel room, a cruise, a vacation, concert or other tickets, or lost wages,” the DOT says.
Does Southwest reimburse for delays?
Many people went after Southwest Airlines in particular during Wednesday's FAA glitch, after the airline saw some major delays with travel over the holidays.
Southwest has set up a dedicated page for passengers who had issues with its service from December 24, 2022 through January 2, 2023.
The airline is offering passengers the chance to request a refund on unused tickets or to rebook flights without paying an additional charge.
The offer does not apply to delays that happened on January 11.