The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has officially relaxed airline fee disclosure requirements, reversing a transparency rule introduced during the Biden administration and giving carriers greater flexibility in how they present ancillary charges to travelers.
The revised regulation, which took effect on July 2, follows a February decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down the DOT‘s 2024 airline fee transparency rule. The court ruled that regulators had not provided airlines with an adequate opportunity to comment on the data used to develop the regulation.
The latest rule formally restores the previous disclosure framework first introduced in 2011.
Under the new requirements, airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs) are no longer obligated to display the exact cost of common ancillary services. That includes first and second checked bags, carry-on luggage and ticket change fees, when fares first appear in search results.
Instead, flight listings only need to indicate that additional baggage or service fees may apply and direct customers to where the information can be found. Detailed fee information can be provided later, typically through a dedicated page on the airline’s website.
The changes also eliminate two provisions that directly affected online travel retailers. The 2024 regulation required airlines to supply OTAs with detailed ancillary fee data so they could display the charges alongside airfare during the booking process.
It also required fees to be shown immediately when travelers clicked through from metasearch platforms such as Google Flights. Those obligations have now been removed.
The current administration decision shows how airlines had successfully challenged the previous administration’s efforts to strengthen transparency around optional service fees. While the rules governing how fees are displayed have changed, airlines must still disclose ancillary charges before customers complete a purchase.
Passengers continue to decide whether to purchase optional services such as checked baggage, seat assignments or other extras before finalizing their bookings.
Meanwhile, online travel companies such as Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Hopper and other booking platforms, will continue navigating different disclosure requirements depending on whether they are subject to airline regulations or broader consumer protection rules.
