Airline passengers can still get some compensation from airlines, experts have told Newsweek, after the Trump administration dropped Biden-era plans for expanded protections for delays and cancellations.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it would drop the Biden-era plan, which would have guaranteed passengers affected by lengthy delays or cancellations caused by carriers compensation between $200 and $765, along with free meals, lodging and rebookings.
"I think this is not at all surprising," Nick Ewen, editorial director at The Points Guy, which offers airline passengers advice on the industry, told Newsweek. "This was a proposed rule from the last full month of the Biden administration.
"We knew from the get-go that it was going to fall to the new Trump administration to decide the future of this proposal and given their overall approach to a decreased regulatory environment, this kind of consumer-centric, pretty significant type of rule, it's not really surprising that we ultimately got news that it was being pulled from consideration."
President Donald Trump's DOT posted a notice to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which said it was revoking the plans to be "consistent with Department and administration priorities".
This means the proposal, announced by former President Joe Biden and his Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, will no longer take effect.
It was first floated in 2023, before opening for public comment last year. There was no timeline for the rule to take effect, but the plan had largely been welcomed by aviation industry experts and passenger groups.
"The recently rescinded proposal, which had not yet taken effect in the U.S., would have mandated airlines to provide additional compensation, not just a refund, to passengers impacted by flight disruptions," Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, told Newsweek.
"Eliminating these protections means passengers in the U.S. will pay the price when flight disruptions occur."
A spokesperson for the DOT said that the administration would continue to offer protections mandated by Congress.
"Some of the rules proposed or adopted by the previous administration, however, went beyond what Congress has required by statute, and we intend to reconsider those extra-statutory requirements," the spokesperson told Newsweek.
Other regulations around consumer protections are also being reviewed, according to another regulatory notice. These include addressing:
"The current state of passenger rights in the U.S. is still far behind other parts of the world, such as the UK and EU, where stronger passenger protections are in place," Pawliszyn said. "In addition, US passengers also continue to lack the right to receive care during disruptions, such as access to food, drinks, and accommodation - which should be the bare minimum."
While the Biden-era proposals for extra protections were withdrawn, there are still some Congressionally-mandated rules in place under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which have remained unchanged.
"That includes specifying a timeline for getting refunds when your flight is canceled or significantly delayed and you opt not to travel or you off not to accept a rebooking alternative," Ewen said. "Airlines are obligated to give you a refund and, if you pay with a credit card, that must be within seven days. That protection still remains in effect."
The DOT's traveler dashboard is also still live, detailing what airlines will offer in different circumstances.
Airlines are not required to compensate passengers for issues outside of their control, however, such as air-traffic-control delays or weather-related problems.
"As the rules from the previous administration were not yet being enforced, airlines will likely keep any existing policies in place. For example, those that offer passengers vouchers or meal accommodations in the event of a flight disruption, will continue to do so on a voluntary basis," Pawliszyn said.
Airlines for America (A4A), a lobbying group that represents a number of airlines including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and United, told Newsweek that the move by the Trump administration was welcome.
"We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don't solve issues important to our customers," an A4A spokesperson told Newsweek. "We look forward to working with DOT on implementing President Trump's deregulatory agenda."
While the administration may look to unravel some other Biden-era airline industry regulations, such as a rule meant to ensure families are able to sit together on a flight, Ewer said it was important to note that it would be difficult to undo what had already been written into law.
"Ultimately, I view this as a great opportunity for Congress to come together in a bipartisan way," Ewen said. "When a lot of these rules were initially proposed and put through the Department of Transportation over the last couple of years there was bipartisan support around providing more transparency and protection for consumers.
"So, rather than worrying about what's going to happen with some of these rules and whether the Department of Transportation overstepped their legal authority in making these rules, let's put it in a piece of legislation and then it's codified into law."