The Trump administration has formally dropped a Biden-era proposal that would have required airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when flights were significantly delayed or canceled for reasons within the carrier’s control.
According to reporting from AP, “in a document posted Thursday, President Donald Trump’s Transportation Department said its plan to scrap the proposed rule is “consistent with Department and administration priorities.” Trump has sought to significantly roll back or modify federal regulations that his administration deems are wasteful or burdensome.”
What the Biden Administration Proposed
In December 2024, the Department of Transportation (DOT) under President Joe Biden announced a draft rule that aimed to expand passenger rights. The proposal would have required airlines to pay:
-$200–$300 for domestic delays of at least three hours.
-Up to $775 for longer delays.
-Plus reimbursement for meals, hotels and rebooking, potentially even on competing airlines if the original carrier couldn’t provide a timely alternative.
The idea was to bring U.S. air travel protections closer to those in the European Union, Canada, Brazil and the United Kingdom, which already have rules in place regarding passenger compensation for flight delays and cancellations.
The DOT had opened the proposal for public comment but had not finalized or enforced it. That means passengers never actually received these cash payments. It was a plan under consideration, not an existing right.
The Trump Administration’s Decision
On September 4, 2025, the DOT under President Donald Trump announced it would withdraw the rulemaking process entirely, saying it lacked clear congressional authority and would impose unnecessary costs on airlines.
According to Reuters, “Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and others, praised the actions and said Biden’s cash compensation plan would have raised ticket prices.”
Without the proposed rule, U.S. travelers continue to have more limited protections than in many other regions:
-Airlines are required to refund passengers if a flight is canceled and the traveler chooses not to fly.
-They are not required by law to provide cash compensation for delays, even lengthy ones, unless written into an airline’s own customer service policy.
-Many airlines voluntarily offer vouchers, meals, or hotel stays during disruptions, but these are not guaranteed by federal law.
So for now, U.S. travelers remain without mandated cash payments for flight delays or cancellations, which means you’ll have to rely on whatever voluntary assistance airlines choose to provide.
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On August 28th, I left Palm Springs airport on Amercian Airlines to travel to Baltimore. I was supposed to have a flight with connections through Dallas and arrive in BWI at 11:00 pm. My plane was delayed due to ” not really knowing”. Due to weather conditions in Dallas and my plane not having enough fuel to keep circling DFW (already circled for over an hour) we flew to Kileen, Texas where only American Eagle flights and Military fly out of that combo airport where we sat on the tarmac for 4 hours. We got refueled…but crazily, the mechanic who refueled us, put the fuel in a wrong tank (only used to smaller aircraft) and we had to wait till the fuel was transferred. Needless to say, when arriving back to Dallas at 11pm there were hundreds of people trying to reroute to their destinations as flights were either canceled or already left. It was completely chaotic with only FOUR ground agents assisting. I was lucky and found a manager who helped me avoid the 600 people in line ! But, I was told it would be two days before I could get to Baltimore. So I opted to go standby at 5:15 AM to Philly.
After my stay in Baltimore for the Labor Day weekend, I flew to Chicago…thank goodness on Southwest. No problems. Coming back to Palm Springs on September 4th again on AMERICAN, I was on two delayed planes that BOTH times all passengers were boarded and had to DEPLANE and find other aircraft. At O’Hare, my first flight we had to deplane because of mechanical problems….waited an hour for another aircraft. Was late to my connecting flight in Phoenix….but that plane was late too so we had a delay that was ok. When we finally boarded we had to DEPLANE and get another aircraft as the Cargo doors wouldn’t close !! More hours delayed until another plane could be found and fly to my Palm Springs destination. After being an Advantage member for years, I’m not flying American again until they get their aircraft in better shape. Yes, I grateful we didn’t take off with mechanical problems, but this travel story for a simple few day trip is too much ! An American agent told me that the CEO is the cause of these problems. That is scary !