Say Goodbye To Biden’s Plan For Flight Delay Compensation

In another move to scrub America’s ties to former President Joe Biden, the Trump administration is abandoning plans for customer compensation due to flight delays or disruptions, NBC News reports.

Proposed in December 2024 during the final weeks of the Biden-Harris administration, airlines would be required to compensate flyers who found themselves stranded, with cash, hotel stays, and meals due to flight cancellations or changes caused by the carrier. The proposal from former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg aimed to align U.S. policy with European airline consumer protections.

However, Trump’s Department of Transportation announced plans to scrap the proposal, stating that the rule is “consistent with Department and administration priorities,” in addition to efforts to dramatically roll back federal regulations that Trump describes as wasteful.

According to The New York Times, the idea that would guarantee passengers $200 to $775 was popular with customers but not so much with the airlines or ​​industry trade groups, who claim the proposal would drive up operating costs and ticket prices. Airlines are required to refund passengers for canceled domestic U.S. flights, but not for delays.

Trade group Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest, celebrated the move by the Trump administration. “We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don’t solve issues important to our customers,” the group said in a statement.

Spirit Airlines, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in 2025, openly opposed the proposal, citing the increase in operational costs and how it would damage its reputation for being budget-friendly. “There is no free lunch,” Spirit said. “If every time a flight had to be cancelled due to, say, an aircraft maintenance issue, airlines were required to pay each affected passenger $300 plus hotel and meals, there would be a perverse incentive to cancel flights preemptively at any hint of trouble.”

Since Trump took office for the second time, the administration has taken a deep dive in dialing back on consumer protections in several industries outside of airlines, such as banking and health insurance. Agencies designed to protect consumers, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, have been overwhelmed with employee purges, incoming stop-work orders, and pauses due to investigations and lawsuits.

While Biden’s plan included consideration of free rebooking for the next available flight–including flights on rival airlines—Trump’s Transportation Department is eyeing the easing of other regulations, such as rules related to what kinds of flight disruptions will guarantee consumer refunds and timely bag delivery.

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