U.S Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned airlines to comply with refund requirements that took effect with the passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act in May.
In a letter that went out July 30 to the CEOs of the ten largest U.S. airlines, Buttigieg said that the DOT has received thousands of customer complaints in recent weeks.
"We are concerned that some airlines may not be disclosing that travelers are entitled to refunds or, worse, misleading travelers into thinking they are not entitled to a refund," Buttigieg wrote. "Any time you communicate to a passenger on a canceled or significantly changed flight, particularly about a voucher or credit, you must make it clear that they are entitled to a refund."
The CrowdStrike IT outage on July 19 fueled 3,400 U.S. flight cancellations on that day and contributed to more than 13,000 delays, FlightAware data shows. Airlines cancelled another 4,200 U.S. flights over July 20 and July 21, led by Delta, with United also struggling.
Delta cancellations persisted at a high level through July 24, with the airline and regional subsidiary Endeavor Air ultimately canceling more than 6,300 flights over six days.
Under the new FAA law, refunds are the default for any customer whose flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, unless they choose to take another flight, a voucher or flight credit instead. Airlines are also required to proactively inform customers of a right to a refund. The law defines significantly delays as those that exceed three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.
Buttigieg reminded airlines that they cannot automatically issue vouchers or flight credits. He also reminded them that when passengers opt for a voucher due to a cancellation or significant delay, it must be valid for at least five years.
The 10 primary U.S. airlines are Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.