Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg penned a letter to ten US airlines, slamming ‘unacceptable’ levels of delays and cancelations.
Buttigieg wants airlines to give out meal vouchers to customers with delays of three hours or longer and hotel stays when delayed overnight.
Airlines ‘must provide timely and responsive customer service during and after periods of flight disruptions’
The Department of Transportation said nearly one in four domestic flights were delayed in the first half of 2022 and 3.2% were canceled.
The DOT is launching a website that will clearly display each airline’s performance on delays, cancelations and their refund policies, Buttigieg said.
“When passengers do experience cancelations and delays, they deserve clear and transparent information on the services that your airline will provide, to address the expenses and inconveniences,” Buttigieg wrote.
“The Department expects airlines to provide timely and responsive customer service during and after periods of flight disruptions.”
If not, the DOT will impose new rules.
Industry group Airlines for America claims weather and the national airspace traffic control system caused over 60% of flight cancellations in the first five months of 2022.
Delta says it has on refunded over 11 million tickets worth $6 billion since the start of 2020.
Passenger complaints to airlines were recently up 300% compared to pre-pandemic.
