Flight delayed or canceled in the US? Your rights to refunds and more
US rules work differently from Europe's. There's no law that pays you for a delay, but you have strong rights to your money back when a flight is canceled or changed, set payments when you're bumped, and limits on how long you can be kept on a plane. Here's what you're owed, and how to get it.
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The short version
- Canceled or significantly changed? If you don't accept the new flight or a voucher, you're owed a full cash refund, automatically: within 7 business days on a credit card.
- Delayed? No federal law requires compensation. The largest airlines have committed to free rebooking, meals and hotels when the delay is their fault.
- Bumped from an oversold flight? Up to 400% of your fare, capped at $2,150, depending on how late you arrive.
- Stuck on the tarmac? You must be offered the chance to get off before 3 hours (domestic) or 4 hours (international), with food and water within 2 hours.
- Bag late? You get the bag fee back if it's 12 hours late on a domestic trip.
- Flying from Europe or the UK? Their rules can pay up to €600 or £520 for a delay, even to Americans.
Delays: what airlines do and don't owe you
No federal law requires US airlines to pay compensation for a delay. The Department of Transportation looked at requiring it, then withdrew the proposal in November 2025.
What you get instead comes from the airlines' own promises. The largest US airlines have committed to free rebooking, meals and hotels when a cancellation or significant delay is caused by something within the airline's control, such as a crew shortage or most maintenance problems. They don't usually cover weather or air traffic control. The Department of Transportation publishes each airline's commitments on its Airline Customer Service Dashboard, so check your airline's before you accept "there's nothing we can do".
And if the delay is long enough, it counts as a significant change, which brings the right to a refund below.
Refunds: your strongest right
For any flight to, from or within the US, the airline must refund you in full, including taxes and fees, if your flight is canceled or significantly changed and you don't accept what it offers instead. A significant change means:
- departing 3 or more hours earlier, or arriving 3 or more hours later, than planned on a domestic trip (6 or more hours on an international one);
- a different departure or arrival airport;
- more connections than you booked;
- a downgrade to a lower class;
- for passengers with disabilities, different connecting airports, or a substitute plane without the accessibility features they need.
The refund is automatic once you turn down the new flight or a voucher; you don't have to ask twice. It must be in cash or to your original form of payment, not a voucher, unless you choose one. It's due within 7 business days for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payments.
You're also owed a refund of fees for extras you paid for but didn't get, such as Wi-Fi, a seat assignment or an upgrade.
Bumped from an oversold flight
Airlines first ask for volunteers to give up their seats; what you get then is whatever you agree with the airline. If you're bumped against your will, having checked in on time, the compensation is set by law, based on how late the airline's alternative gets you there:
| You arrive | Domestic flights | International flights from the US |
|---|---|---|
| Within 1 hour of your original time | Nothing | Nothing |
| 1 to 2 hours late (1 to 4 hours international) | 200% of your one-way fare, up to $1,075 | 200% of your one-way fare, up to $1,075 |
| Later than that, or no alternative offered | 400% of your one-way fare, up to $2,150 | 400% of your one-way fare, up to $2,150 |
Stuck on the tarmac
If your plane sits on the tarmac at a US airport, the airline must give you the chance to get off before the delay passes 3 hours on a domestic flight or 4 hours on an international one, unless safety, security or air traffic control prevents it. Within 2 hours, it must provide food and drinking water, and it must keep the restrooms working and arrange medical help if needed.
Lost, delayed or damaged bags
- Bag fee back: if your checked bag is lost, or not delivered within 12 hours of arrival on a domestic trip (15 hours on international trips with flights of up to 12 hours, 30 hours on longer ones), you're owed a refund of the bag fee.
- Compensation: on domestic trips, airlines can't limit what they'll pay for lost, damaged or delayed bags to less than $4,700 per passenger, for losses you can show. International trips come under an international treaty, the Montreal Convention, with its own limit.
Report a problem at the airport before you leave if you can, and keep receipts for anything you have to buy while you wait.
Flying from Europe or the UK
On a trip abroad, Europe's rules can give you more than US law does, whatever your nationality. They cover any flight leaving the UK or the EU, on any airline, and flights into the UK or EU on a UK or European airline. They pay compensation of up to £520 or €600 for a delay of more than three hours, as well as meals, hotels and refunds. Our guide to UK and EU flight rights explains how to claim.
How to complain
- Ask the airline first, at the airport if you can, then in writing. Give your confirmation number, flight number and date, and what you're asking for, and attach receipts.
- If it refuses or doesn't answer, file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, at transportation.gov/airconsumer.
Paying by credit card
If you paid by credit card and an airline or travel company doesn't provide what you paid for, or won't refund you, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute the charge with your card issuer:
- Write to the issuer, at its address for billing disputes, so it reaches them within 60 days after the first bill with the charge was sent to you.
- The issuer must acknowledge your letter within 30 days and resolve the dispute within 90.
- While it investigates, you can hold back payment of the disputed amount, and it can't report you as late for that amount.
Debit cards don't have the same protections, which is one reason many travelers book on a credit card.
Travel insurance
A travel insurance policy can cover what airline rules don't: a hotel night, tour or show you've paid for and miss, extra costs from a weather delay, or a trip you have to cancel. Policies vary a lot, so check what yours covers for delays and cancellations before you rely on it.
Be ready before anything goes wrong
When a flight goes wrong, what counts is detail: your confirmation number, the flight number, the times you were due to leave and arrive, what you paid, and receipts for what you spent. Neatrip keeps all of that together for each trip, on your device even with no signal, so it's to hand at the gate and afterwards when you ask for your refund. Real-time flight alerts are coming in a future release.
Sources
- Federal regulations, Title 14 (current as of October 29, 2026): Part 260, refunds, Part 250, oversales, Part 259, tarmac delays, Part 254, domestic baggage liability
- Federal Register: withdrawal of the delay compensation proposal (November 17, 2025), airline customer service commitments (December 10, 2025)
- Federal Trade Commission: using credit cards and disputing charges
- US Department of Transportation: aviation consumer protection
This guide explains the rules in general and isn't legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@neatrip.app.