What you need to know about airline refunds and delays

Major airlines including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines halted flights on Friday morning as a global IT outage affected operations and delayed traveller arrivals.

“You can imagine the chaos that’s going to happen everywhere,” said Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at AirHelp, which helps people file claims for delayed and canceled flights.

“Any kind of shutdown, bottleneck [it has] “It’s incredible how many flights we’ve had access to it,” he added.

Passengers affected by flight disruptions may be entitled to refunds, hotel and meal vouchers, or other compensation.

But travel experts say it depends a lot on the airline.

“There’s a grey area that depends on the airline’s policies,” Napoli said.

Experts are divided on whether the outages were an event within or outside the airline’s control, a key factor in determining whether customers are entitled to any financial compensation.

There’s really only one guarantee when it comes to airlines’ financial obligations: According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, if an airline cancels a flight for any reason and the customer chooses not to take an alternative flight, the customer is entitled to a refund of the ticket price (and fees).

The same applies to non-refundable tickets.

John Breyert, a travel expert at the Consumer Federation of America, said this means customers can get a refund for the cost of their canceled flight if they choose not to fly and reject alternatives such as rebooking or a flight voucher.

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The Department for Transport said passengers are entitled to refunds for “significant” schedule changes or delays and can choose not to travel.

But the Department of Transportation has not defined “significant,” saying its determination is based on factors such as the delay, the length of the flight and the specific circumstances.

Under rules issued by the Biden administration in April, airlines must “promptly” and automatically refund customers starting Oct. 28. The rules also stipulate “significant” itinerary changes, such as delays of up to three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

But the rule doesn’t take effect until October, so it won’t help passengers affected by Friday’s suspensions, who may have to “jump through a lot of hoops with the airlines” to get refunds, Breyert said.

Experts say it could be even more difficult for passengers who bought tickets through third-party booking sites rather than directly from the airlines.

Napoli said clients will likely have to deal with the intermediary to get any financial compensation.

Expedia, for example, said on social media on Friday morning that it was “experiencing high call volume and extended wait times due to a global IT outage. If it’s not an emergency, please consider postponing your call or chat to avoid long hold times.”

But many travelers affected by Friday’s outage will not be able to get refunds because they still need or want to fly to their final destinations.

In these cases, there is generally no federal coverage for travelers. This is where the policies of specific airlines come into play.

“Airlines will fly you to your destination on the next available flight,” says Sarah Lassner, travel expert at NerdWallet.

“What’s the difference [between airlines] “The question is how much compensation you can get after the fact, and whether you can be compensated not just for the delays but for other costs that may be incurred,” she added.

The Department of Transportation’s website outlines airline commitments to customers in the event of a cancellation or delay of three hours or more. (The department’s dashboard outlines the policies of the 10 largest U.S. airlines, which account for 96% of domestic passenger air traffic, and their regional operating partners.)

Airlines “must comply with” those commitments, the agency said.

All airlines have pledged to rebook passengers on the same airline free of charge, Napoli said. Some will rebook passengers on partner airlines, and most will provide meals and hotel accommodations for long delays and cancellations.

However, an airline’s obligations only apply to situations within its control.

According to the Department of Transportation, “controllable” flight cancellations and delays could be due to, for example, maintenance, crew issues, cabin cleaning, baggage loading or refueling.

Breyaert said it’s generally difficult for consumers to get any kind of compensation for events they can’t control, like weather.

Experts appear divided on whether Friday’s outage could be considered within the airline’s control.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike experienced a major outage linked to a technology update on Friday that affected organizations such as Microsoft and sent millions of businesses, including airlines, scrambling to restore apps and services used by the company.

“This seems a little different to the airlines,” NerdWallet’s Lassner said. “It’s software that airlines use as part of their business.”

But airlines choose their vendors, Breyert said, and some might argue that “if one vendor fails, it’s within our control,” he said.

“I think this is going to be something consumers will want to take notice of,” Breyaert said.

Ratner said passengers should keep receipts for unexpected expenses incurred as a result of delays or cancellations, such as accommodations and meals, as financial evidence when making claims to airlines or travel insurers, for example.

“Don’t throw away your receipts as you may get some of your money back,” she said.