Lately, especially this summer, flying has been a nightmare thanks to constant delays and cancelations by airlines. When that happens, most travelers expect to be compensated, although airlines make it really difficult for folks to know what exactly they are entitled to. Well, now the government is going to make that a bit easier.
According to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Department of Transportation is going to create a new interactive dashboard, that will provide travelers with "easy to-read, comparative summary information on the services or amenities that each of the large U.S. airlines provide when the cause of a cancelation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control."
As of now, airlines are required by the Transportation Department to offer refunds to consumers if flights are canceled for any reason. Although information on such policies are required as part of federally mandated Customer Service Plans, that info is usually pretty hard to get. Buttigieg says passengers “deserve clear and transparent information” on what will be provided by airlines regarding what they’ll do “to address the expenses and inconveniences resulting from these disruptions.”
The plan is to have the dashboard go live by September 2nd to be ready for the Labor Day Weekend. It will be available on the Transpiration Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection website.
- But that’s not all. Buttigeig says they are looking into what options they have regarding expanding “the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions.” They want airlines to at least provide passengers with meal vouchers if a flight is delayed three hours or more hours, and lodging for overnight delays.
Source-USA Today
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