US DOT flight delay and refund rules, explained

What DOT does and does not guarantee

The ❌ items are the ones travelers assume are covered and are not, so they matter as much as the ✅ ones.

When you are owed an automatic refund

A refund is owed when the airline cancels, or makes a "significant change," and you decline the alternative they offer. DOT defines a significant change as: 3+ hrs domestic · 6+ hrs international · different airport · added connections · downgrade in class of service · downgraded aircraft type.

The refund itself: must be automatic, to the original payment method, for the full amount minus the used portion; the airline CANNOT force a voucher or credit instead. It must arrive within 7 business days (credit card) / 20 days (cash or check).

Two fee refunds people forget: checked-bag fees are refundable if the bag is significantly delayed AND a report is filed — 12 hrs domestic / 15–30 hrs international. And ancillary fees (wifi, seat selection, etc.) are refundable if the service was not provided.

The line that trips everyone up

hotels, meals, ground transport and compensation for lost time are NOT DOT rights — each is the airline's OWN Customer Service Plan, verified per airline (Class A), comparable at flightrights.gov

So a weather delay that strands you overnight is not a DOT refund situation, and DOT does not make the airline buy you a hotel. Whether you get one depends on that airline's Customer Service Plan, which you can compare, airline by airline, at the DOT's own flightrights.gov dashboard. And the 3-hour / 6-hour thresholds are the federal minimum, an airline can promise more, never less.

Stuck on the tarmac

The airline must let you off the aircraft after airline must allow passengers to deplane after 3 hrs (domestic) / 4 hrs (international), except for safety, security, or air-traffic-control reasons. During the wait: food and water within 2 hours; working lavatories and access to medical attention throughout.

What you do not get: NONE — DOT requires deplaning and provisions, not a payout.

Bumped from an oversold flight (denied boarding)

If the airline involuntarily bumps you because a flight is oversold, the compensation is set by law, by how late their alternative gets you there:

must be paid by cash or check — the airline CANNOT force a voucher. And the passenger keeps the original ticket — compensation is IN ADDITION to it, not instead of it. One catch: voluntary bumping (accepting an offer to give up your seat) is NOT covered by these amounts — whatever you negotiate is the deal.

These rules are changing

open DOT "Refund III" rulemaking — never present US refund rights as timeless fact. We re-verify this page against the DOT's own site on a fixed cycle rather than treating it as settled, and we will tell you what actually applies to your ticket on the call.

Sources

This page is federal law, not our policy and not any airline's policy. It was read on the DOT's own site, not summarized from an airline.