The US DOT Refund Rule: When Airlines Must Give Your Money Back

For years, US passengers whose flights were cancelled were often handed vouchers instead of refunds, and "significant schedule change" meant whatever an airline's policy said. That changed with the Department of Transportation's final rule on refunds and other consumer protections, published in the Federal Register in April 2024 and codified at 14 CFR Part 260. This guide explains what the rule requires of airlines operating flights to, from and within the United States.

Who it applies to

The rule applies to US airlines, to foreign airlines operating flights to and from the United States, and to ticket agents that sell air transportation. It covers what the rule calls covered flights — scheduled passenger service involving a point in the United States. It does not cover flights entirely outside the US, even on US airlines.

When a refund is required

The rule requires a refund in three main situations:

1. The airline cancels a flight and the passenger does not accept alternative transportation or compensation.
2. The airline makes a significant delay or change and the passenger rejects the change and does not accept an alternative.
3. The airline fails to provide a paid ancillary service, such as seat selection or Wi-Fi, or significantly delays a checked bag for which a fee was paid.

Defining a significant change

The rule does not leave the definition to airline policies. A significantly delayed or changed flight is one where, as a result of a delay or change, the passenger is scheduled to depart three hours or more earlier or arrive three hours or more later than originally scheduled on a domestic itinerary — six hours on an international itinerary. Changing the departure or arrival airport, adding a connection, downgrading the passenger's class of service, and certain changes affecting passengers with disabilities also count.

Notice that delay here means the scheduled change in timing, or the actual delay where the flight ends up that late. A flight that departs two hours late on a domestic route does not trigger a refund under the rule.

How refunds are made

Refunds must be "prompt", which the rule defines as within seven business days for credit card purchases and within twenty calendar days for other forms of payment. They must go back to the original form of payment, in cash or equivalent, for the full fare including government taxes and fees and airline-imposed fees, minus the value of any portion of the trip already used.

Airlines can offer travel credits, vouchers or other compensation, but they cannot simply treat you as having accepted them; you must affirmatively agree. If you are entitled to a refund and you do not want a credit, say so in writing.

Checked bags

A checked bag is significantly delayed if it is not delivered within twelve hours of arrival for domestic itineraries, fifteen hours for international itineraries where the nonstop segment to or from the US is twelve hours or less, or thirty hours where that segment is longer. If you paid a bag fee and filed a mishandled-baggage report, the airline must refund the fee. Separately, the Montreal Convention and US rules on baggage liability cover the cost of essential items you buy while waiting.

What the rule does not do

• It does not require cash compensation for delays or cancellations. That is the biggest difference from EU261.
• It does not cover delays below the thresholds.
• It does not give you a refund if you choose to travel on the changed flight or a rebooking.
• It does not cover non-refundable tickets you simply decide not to use when the flight operates normally.

Airline commitments

Beyond the legal minimum, many US airlines have published commitments to provide meals, hotels and rebooking when a disruption is within their control. DOT's Airline Customer Service Dashboard compares them. Because these commitments are incorporated into each airline's customer service plan, DOT can enforce them, but the content varies by airline.

Denied boarding

If you are involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight, a separate DOT rule in 14 CFR Part 250 requires compensation based on a multiple of your one-way fare and the length of the delay to your destination, subject to caps that DOT adjusts periodically for inflation. Airlines must first ask for volunteers.

How to request a refund

1. Check the change against the thresholds using our US refund checker.
2. Decline the alternative flight or credit, ideally in writing in the airline's app or on its website.
3. Request the refund through the airline's refund form if one exists; many now process refunds automatically when you reject a change.
4. If the refund does not arrive within the deadline, file a complaint with DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and, for card purchases, consider a chargeback with your card issuer.

International flights to Europe and the UK

A US–Europe trip can involve both regimes. A cancelled Paris–New York flight on any airline is covered by EU261, so you may be entitled both to a refund (under US and EU rules) and, if the notice and extraordinary-circumstance conditions allow it, to EU compensation of €600. Flights from New York to Paris are covered by EU261 only if operated by an EU airline. See the rules checker.

Refunds versus credits when you cancel yourself

The rule is about airline-initiated cancellations and changes. If you simply decide not to fly on a non-refundable ticket while the flight operates as scheduled, the fare rules decide what you get back, often a credit or nothing. If the airline later changes or cancels that same flight, however, the refund rights described above apply in full, so it can pay to wait for the airline's decision rather than cancel early. Once you cancel, you usually lose the right to a refund triggered by a later airline change.

Why this matters

Before the rule, airlines' definitions of a significant change varied, and consumers who accepted credits often lost them. The rule creates bright-line thresholds and makes refunds automatic. If you know the thresholds, you can respond to a schedule change with confidence.