May 9 :
Late May 7, negotiators from the United States House and Senate reached an agreement to amend an aviation reform measure in order to expedite the process of refunds for airline customers whose flights are cancelled and who do not seek alternative routes. The United States Department of Transportation finalised new regulations on April 24 that would mandate automatic cash reimbursements for cancelled flights later this year when customers opt not to take a new flight.
There were worries that a new law mandating refund requests could undermine a regulation that would guarantee that customers who purchased non-refundable tickets would get their money back in the event of flight cancellations, in response to a bipartisan proposal that was introduced last week in Congress. refunds would be processed automatically in many cases. If customers changed their booking and took a different flight, they would not be eligible for an automatic refund.
"Statutory rights to refunds are a big win for consumers in this bill," stated Maria Cantwell, a Democrat who led the talks on the new text and is the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. Refunds can be requested easily by passengers who decline vouchers or alternate flights.
Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) hailed the reimbursement bill as "a victory for airline consumers everywhere."
A representative for the leading Republican on the panel, Senator Ted Cruz, confirmed that Cruz and Cantwell had reached an agreement to include a "clarifying point affirming the right of consumers to get a refund if that is their preference."
An amendment to automate the reimbursements and "crack down on burdensome corporate processes put in place to maximise airlines' profits" was presented by Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren. What Warren and Hawley wanted was comparable to the new provision.
In contrast to some long waits in the EU, neither the regulation nor the law requires compensation for delays. Last May, President Joe Biden announced that the Transportation Department would submit new regulations mandating that airlines pay passengers in the event of substantial, controllable flight delays or cancellations.
The roughly 1,100-page, $105 billion package would also increase financing to prevent runway near-miss events and expand manpower for air traffic controllers. However, the House of Representatives' provision to increase the retirement age for airline pilots from 65 to 67 is absent from this.
There will be five additional round-trip flights each day at Washington National Airport, the measure bans airlines from charging families to sit together, and airlines must accept vouchers and credits for a minimum of five years. Additionally, the law mandates that the FAA implement cutting-edge airport surface technology to aid in accident prevention and mandates that all aircraft be fitted with 25-hour cockpit recording devices.
