DOT Launches New Website To Allow Passengers To Know Their Rights When Flights Are Delayed

The U.S. Department of Transportation has rolled out a new airline customer service dashboard, which aims to help passengers be familiar with their rights when experiencing flight cancelations or delays.

The new website rollout comes amid months of mass flight cancellations and delays nationwide, and is part of an extended pressure campaign from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency.

Two weeks ago, Secretary Buttigieg wrote a letter to airline CEOs informing them that DOT would publish the dashboard before Labor Day and asked the airlines to improve their customer service plans before the release.

As a result, according to the Department of Transportation, all but one of the ten largest U.S. airlines made significant changes to their plans to improve services provided to passengers when their flights are canceled or delayed because of an airline issue.

For example, no airline unconditionally guaranteed meal vouchers or hotels prior to Secretary Buttigieg’s letter.

Now, nine of the 10 guarantee meals and eight of the 10 guarantee hotel accommodations when an airline issue causes the delay or cancelation.

“Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption,” Buttigieg said in a statement.

“This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions. The Department will continue to support passengers and to hold airlines responsible for adhering to their customer obligations.”

So far this year, airlines have canceled about 146,000 flights, or 2.6% of all flights, and nearly 1.3 million flights have been delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware. The rate of cancellations is up about one-third from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, and the rate of delays is up nearly one-fourth.

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