WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed new rules to strengthen airline passenger protection rules and require airlines to provide vouchers that do not expire when passengers are unable to fly for some pandemic reasons.
The rules would codify the Transportation Department’s longstanding interpretation that failing to provide refunds when an airline cancels or significantly changes a U.S. flight constitutes an unfair practice.
Those requirements would include changes that impact departure or arrival times by three hours or more for a domestic flight or six hours or more for an international flight.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)