Transportation Department ditches rule to require airlines to pay passengers for long delays

The Trump administration is withdrawing a Biden-era proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for significant flight disruptions.

The proposal was officially withdrawn Monday after the Transportation Department issued a notice Friday that it would do away with the rule.

The proposal, which was never enacted, would have required airlines to pay passengers up to $775 in cash for long waits when flights are delayed.

The Trump administration announced in September that it would nix the proposal. This was to “reduce regulatory burdens” and “repeal or to modify regulations that are unlawful or unauthorized,” according to the withdrawal notice.

Airlines and airline associations unanimously opposed the requirements, saying it would greatly increase costs for passengers and airlines; Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association said it would cost airlines $5 billion or more a year.

Consumer advocacy groups supported the regulation, arguing that voluntary commitments by airlines to help passengers affected by controllable flight disruptions are insufficient because such initiatives could be removed or airlines fail to inform passengers about them.

U.S. airlines are still required to refund passengers for canceled flights but would no longer be required to compensate customers for delays.

The Transportation Department cited airlines’ “strong incentives to take care of passengers during significant flight disruptions” as a reason for the decision.

This withdrawal would “allow airlines to compete on the services and compensation that they provide to passengers rather than imposing new minimum requirements for these services and compensation through regulation, which would impose significant costs on airlines, and potentially consumers,” the Friday notice said.

Democratic senators previously defended the proposal in a letter addressed to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“This is a common-sense proposal: when an airline’s mistake imposes unanticipated costs on families, the airline should try to remedy the situation by providing accommodations to consumers and helping cover their costs,” the letter said, signed by more than a dozen senators.