Trump Administration Halts Biden’s Flight Delay Compensation

The Trump administration has officially withdrawn a proposed Biden-era regulation that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for significant flight delays or cancellations.

The rule, introduced in 2024, aimed to establish mandatory, tiered payments ranging from $200 for delays of three to six hours to as much as $775 for delays exceeding nine hours.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), which published the withdrawal in the Federal Register, the administration determined it did not have clear legal authority to require airlines to issue fixed compensation amounts for service disruptions.

The DOT also argued that airlines already have strong commercial incentives to assist passengers and that many carriers voluntarily provide rebooking help, travel credits, or accommodations during major delays.

Supporters of the original proposal, including several Democratic senators and consumer advocacy groups, criticized the reversal, calling it a missed opportunity to strengthen airline accountability and ease the financial burden often placed on families facing last-minute hotel costs or rebooking fees.

Under current US regulations, airlines must provide refunds for canceled flights. However, there is no requirement for guaranteed compensation for delays, unlike in the European Union, where travelers are eligible for compensation if their flight arrives more than three hours late and the airline is at fault.

With the proposal now formally withdrawn, passengers in the US will not receive guaranteed payments for flight delays, though carriers may still offer voluntary assistance.

For more insight, check out our explainer on the impact of Trump’s policies on travel to learn what that means for tourism on a larger scale.

Photo by Josh Withers on Unsplash