A new federal rule categorizes 10 types of air travel disruptions as out of the airline’s control — including delays caused by an unruly passenger or a death on the flight.
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The change means the airline isn’t obligated to provide passengers with the compensation — such as hotel and meal vouchers — that it has promised for incidents deemed under its control.
The action, which takes effect Oct. 19, says these circumstances will not be considered within the airline’s control:
- Removal of an unruly passenger
- Aircraft cleaning necessitated by the death of a passenger
- An emergency that required medical attention through no fault of the carrier
- Aircraft damage caused by extreme weather, foreign object debris or sabotage
- Airport closure due to the presence of volcanic ash, wind or wind shear
- Cybersecurity attacks (provided that the air carrier is in compliance with applicable cybersecurity regulations)
- Shutdown or system failure of government systems that directly affects the ability of an air carrier to conduct flights safely and is unexpected
- Baggage or cargo loading delay caused by an outage of a bag system not controlled by a carrier or its contractor
- Unscheduled maintenance, including in response to an airworthiness directive, manifesting outside a scheduled maintenance program that cannot be deferred or must be addressed before flight
- Overheated brakes due to a safety incident resulting in the use of emergency procedures
There’s no federal law requiring airlines to provide compensation when flights are delayed or canceled, but the largest U.S. carriers have committed to certain responses for controllable events. A Department of Transportation dashboard details those commitments, ranging from free rebooking to vouchers, frequent flyer miles and cash.
Whether or not the cause of a delay is considered under the airline’s control, a passenger is entitled to a full refund for cancellation or for a long delay (three hours for a domestic flight, six hours for an international flight). To claim the refund, the passenger must refuse rebooking and any other compensation.
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