Right now, it’s impossible to think about anything but the upcoming election. That said, the fact of the approaching holidays can’t be ignored much longer, and as soon as we’ve all recovered from whatever happens on November 5th, it will be time to turn our sights toward yet another stressful end-of-year hurdle: holiday traveling.
Which is where our blessed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg comes in. This year, Mayor Pete is doing something almost unheard of, something that, frankly, seems more like common sense than something that needed to be legislated. But here we are.
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This year, for the first time, US airlines that put passengers through last-minute cancellations or flight delays will be responsible under the law for giving customers a full refund. Not a half-assed non-apology, not a pathetic voucher that doesn’t even cover the cost of a package of airport Lunchables: an actual refund.
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It might not seem like a huge thing during an election year that holds us in suspense over the very fate of democracy, but for weary, bedraggled travelers clutching their raggedy neck pillows as they run to catch their 14th connecting flight, it’s something.
“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” Buttigieg posted on X back in April, when the proposal made national news. He’s absolutely right! The airport has always been and will always be a terrible place to spend any amount of time in, but at least now when an airline screws its customers over massively, they’ll get their hard-earned coin back. And that’s, well, better than it’s been for years, when you were expected to simply eat the cost of an expensive delayed or cancelled flight.
Under the new rule, airlines must refund passengers within 7 business days (or 20 calendar days if purchased with cash or check) if their flight has been “canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept the significantly changed flight, rebooking on an alternative flight, or alternative compensation.”
The holidays might be a mess this year, but thanks to Mayor Pete, at least we’ll be able to get where we’re going with significantly less financial stress.
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