Airline Passenger Rights Victory: DOT Proposes $200-$775 Compensation for Flight Disruptions

Airline passenger rights achieved significant victories recently-2025 through new Department of Transportation regulations, with proposed rules requiring $200-$775 cash compensation for airline-caused flight disruptions.

The December 2025 proposed rules establish tiered compensation: $200-$300 for domestic delays 3-6 hours, $375-$525 for 6-9 hours, and $750-$775 for delays over 9 hours when caused by airline operational failures.

Automatic refund protections took effect October 28, 2025, requiring airlines to provide cash refunds within 7 days (credit cards) or 20 days (other payments) for canceled or significantly changed flights (3+ hours domestic, 6+ hours international).

Southwest Airlines faces special requirements due to DOT enforcement: must provide $75 transferable vouchers to passengers affected by controllable delays/cancellations causing 3+ hour arrival delays beyond scheduled times.

Overbooking compensation increased protection: passengers bumped involuntarily receive up to $775 (1-2 hours late) or $1,550 (2+ hours late domestic), while federal law prohibits discrimination in bumping based on disability, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.

All major airlines except Frontier committed to covering hotel accommodations and transportation for controllable overnight cancellations, while Alaska, Hawaiian, JetBlue, and Southwest provide credits/vouchers for 3+ hour delays.

However, domestic flight delays still lack compensation requirements: unlike EU regulations, U.S. law doesn't require airlines to compensate passengers for delayed domestic flights unless related to overbooking.

DOT's Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard tracks carrier commitments, while passengers can file complaints directly with airlines or DOT and pursue legal remedies when rights are violated.