A number of airlines in the United States cancelled thousands of flights in recent times leaving thousands of passengers stranded while causing inconvenience. The cancellations were caused due to a number of reason but the ones who suffered the most were the passengers, who usually got a refund of their respective trips. However, the Biden Administration is now gearing up towards taking steps that will require the airlines to provide the compensation beyond refunds in case of flight cancellations or delays. The information was given out by an official from the White House.
An official announcement will soon be made by President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigeig, the Transport Secretary. The government, during the rule making process, will be considering the factors if the airlines would be responsible to provide compensation, lodging, cover expenses for meals and rebooking tickets when it has stranded the passengers. For now the passengers can check the government-based site FlightRights.gov to see what the airline is offering. But the administration says that the current provisions being provided by the airlines are not enough.
Ten of the popular airlines provide free meals and free rebooking on the same airline while nine of them guarantee hotel accommodations. The White House opines, as of now none of the airlines offer compensation that is beyond refunds or amenities. Just one airline guarantees frequent flyer miles and two others offer travel credits or vouchers if the passenger experiences delays or cancellations that are caused by something termed by the airline as ‘mechanical issue’.
None of the airlines guarantee cash compensation for the delays and cancellations that are preventable. The official from the White House has also said that the European Union and Canada have policies in place that mandate such kind of additional compensations. The recent announcement is the latest to be made by the Biden administration towards improving air travel with passenger protections.
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