The Trump administration has shot down a proposed rule that would have required airlines to pay travelers up to $750 in cash for certain flight delays.
Receiving compensation for flight delays and cancellations in the US has long been a major pain point for travelers—especially those accustomed to the legal protections granted to airline passengers in Europe and Canada.
Under the Biden administration, the Department of Transportation (DOT) made it a priority to address this. But now, the DOT has officially abandoned a federal plan that would have helped ease the financial burden of lengthy flight delays for airline passengers in the US.
The plan was introduced in 2023, when the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would require US airlines to compensate passengers with cash payments if their flight was canceled or delayed for three hours or more due to issues within the airline’s control. On November 17, 2025, the DOT published a withdrawal notice to the Federal Register, officially calling off the proposal. The decision is in line with the administration’s broader deregulation push, per the notice, and incorporated feedback from both airlines and consumers.
If the proposed regulation had been put into effect, impacted passengers would receive between $200 and $750 in extra monetary compensation for flight disruptions caused by problems like airline short-staffing, mechanical problems with the aircraft, or the increasingly common computer system meltdown. It would also require airlines to cover extra costs that passengers incurred during the disruptions, including meals, hotels, and any additional transportation required.
Compensation policies like these are commonplace in many other countries, especially in Europe, where the EU 261 regulation requires all airlines operating within the European Union to make similar payments to delayed travelers, while also covering extra costs.
Right now, many US airlines do offer to cover travelers’ meals, hotels, and transportation on a voluntary basis during lengthy delays. However, without the proposed rule in place, airlines aren’t required to provide these conveniences and can choose to stop offering this support to fliers at any time. In fact, several US carriers only began to cover those extra expenses after the Biden administration urged them to in 2022.
If your flight is canceled, US airlines are still required to provide you with automatic cash refunds if you decide not to accept a flight voucher or rebooking on another flight. That policy is unaffected and remains a federal regulation. Here’s what else to know.