2025 Might Be The Year Travelers Finally Get Compensated For Flight Delays

A flight can truly make or break an entire trip. When your flight is canceled, you can usually expect compensation (unless the cancelation was due to weather). This often comes in the form of a free rebooking, a free hotel room for the night, or simply a full refund. In contrast, delayed flights do not always guarantee the same consolations, even if one flight delay causes you to miss your connecting flight at the next airport. However, 2025 could bring changes to this nuisance in the United States.

In December of 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation created the Air Passenger Rights, a proposal stating that all passengers in the country should receive financial compensation when an airline operating in the U.S. delays a flight — as long as the delay was the fault of the airline. If the proposition becomes law, it would also require airlines to guarantee all passengers basic duty of care, which are guidelines related to health and wellbeing, such as providing food and water during lengthy delays if passengers are already on the plane.

Aside from mandating duty of care guidelines for passengers, the Air Passenger Rights proposal would further strengthen refund laws from the Federal Aviation Administration's Reauthorization Act created in May of 2024. This Act demanded that airlines give refunds for canceled flights and flights delayed by three hours or six hours for international flights. Also in 2024, Department of Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, reminded airline CEOs about their 2022 commitments to make it easier for passengers to get rebooked on another flight or receive meal and hotel vouchers when dealing with flight disruptions.

While the Department of Transportation works to ensure that airlines comply with present and future guidelines, air travelers can be advocates too. The Federal Register's website offers a window of time for public comments when posting documents detailing proposed rules from government agencies, including the Department of Transportation. As you watch for news coming from the agency, it also pays to do some research so you can find out which airlines have the best customer service and the fewest flight schedule disruptions before you book your trips.