Trump Withdraws Automatic Refund Requirement for Canceled and Severely Delayed Flights

WASHINGTON — Last week, the Trump administration withdrew a consumer protection rule that required airlines to provide automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights. The change came amid a flood of lobbying from the industry.

In April of last year, the Biden administration announced the policy, which required the automatic refunds be issued without customers having to "navigate a patchwork of cumbersome processes to request and receive a refund, searching through airline websites to figure out how to make the request, filling out extra ‘digital paperwork,’ or at times waiting for hours on the phone."

A bipartisan legislative effort from lawmakers who received the most campaign donations from the industry nearly sunk the policy then, and renewed efforts from the sector appear to have won sway among the Trump administration. The industry's largest trade association and United Airlines hired Ballard Partners. The Florida-based lobbying group, which previously employed Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, is reportedly the most direct way to get an issue in front of White House policymakers.

Airlines had been able to retain billions of dollars each year in unissued refunds under the old policy, creating a substantial incentive to lobby for its return. Increased cancellations and schedule delays within the industry over the past year have compounded those incentives.