Quick answer: Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel, the airline owes you a refund to your original payment method, not just a voucher, regardless of the reason. Rebooking, meals, and hotels depend on the airline’s own commitments and whether the cause was within its control.
Key Takeaways
- If the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight, you are owed a cash refund
- Refunds must go to the original payment method, not just a voucher
- Meals and hotels depend on the airline’s commitments and the cause
- File a DOT complaint if the airline refuses
Step 1: Check the airline app immediately
Airlines usually rebook automatically. Review the new itinerary; if it does not work, look for a “change flight” option, which is often free after a cancellation.
Step 2: Decide: rebook or refund
If you still want to travel, take the best available rebooking. If not, request a refund. Airlines must process refunds promptly (within 7 business days for credit cards, 20 calendar days for other methods).
Step 3: Ask about amenities
For controllable delays (mechanical, crew, IT), most major U.S. airlines commit to meals after a delay of about 3 hours and hotels for overnight disruptions. Check the DOT airline customer service dashboard at transportation.gov for each airline’s commitments. Weather and air traffic control delays generally do not qualify.
Step 4: Keep receipts
If you pay for a hotel or meal yourself, save receipts and submit a reimbursement request afterward.
Baggage fees and extras
If bags are significantly delayed, checked-bag fees must be refunded. Fees for services you paid for but did not receive (Wi-Fi, seat selection) are also refundable.
If the airline refuses
File a complaint with the DOT at transportation.gov/airconsumer. You can also dispute the charge with your credit card issuer.
FAQ
Does travel insurance help? It can cover expenses airlines will not, such as prepaid hotels at your destination. Many premium credit cards include trip-delay coverage.
Do EU rules apply to my flight? EU261 applies to flights departing the EU or arriving on EU carriers, and can provide cash compensation on top of refunds.
Can I get compensation for a delay in the U.S.? There is no federal cash compensation requirement for delays as of now; refunds apply only if you cancel your trip.
What counts as a “significant change”
The refund right applies not only to outright cancellations but to significant schedule changes, and airlines make those constantly.
Under DOT rules a significant change includes a departure or arrival time moved by more than three hours domestically or six hours internationally, a change of departure or arrival airport, an added connection, a downgrade in class of service, or a change to a less accessible aircraft for a passenger with a disability.
This matters because schedule-change emails often arrive months before travel and read like housekeeping. If the new times do not work for you, you are entitled to a full refund even on a basic-economy or otherwise non-refundable fare. Airlines will offer rebooking first; you can accept a better option, but the refund remains your right if you prefer it.
Getting the refund in practice
Request it in writing through the airline’s refund form rather than by phone, because the DOT clock starts when the airline receives the request and a form submission creates a timestamped record. Refunds must be processed within seven business days for credit card purchases and twenty calendar days for other payment methods.
If the airline offers a voucher or travel credit, and you want money, decline it explicitly in writing. Accepting a voucher is generally treated as settling the claim, which forecloses the cash refund.
Keep a screenshot of the original itinerary and the cancellation or change notice, since airlines occasionally update records in ways that make the original terms hard to reconstruct later.
Meals, hotels, and rebooking: a different set of rules
Refunds are governed by regulation. Amenities during disruptions are governed largely by each airline’s own published commitments, which is why outcomes vary so much between carriers.
For disruptions within the airline’s control, such as mechanical problems, crew shortages, or IT failures, most major U.S. airlines have committed to meal vouchers after roughly three hours and hotel accommodation plus ground transport for overnight disruptions, along with rebooking on the same airline at no cost. Weather and air traffic control delays generally fall outside these commitments.
The DOT publishes an Airline Customer Service Dashboard comparing what each carrier has actually committed to. Checking it before you argue at the gate is more effective than arguing, because you can name the specific commitment the airline has published.
Baggage and extras
If checked bags are significantly delayed, the bag fee must be refunded. DOT thresholds are 12 hours for domestic flights and 15 to 30 hours for international flights depending on length.
Airlines are also liable for reasonable expenses caused by delayed bags up to federal or treaty limits, so keep receipts for essentials purchased while waiting. Separately, any fee paid for a service not delivered, such as Wi-Fi that did not work, a seat assignment not honored, or unavailable in-flight entertainment, is refundable.
When the airline says no
File a complaint with the DOT at transportation.gov/airconsumer. Airlines are required to respond to DOT complaints, and patterns of complaints inform enforcement action. Attach your documentation.
In parallel, dispute the charge with your credit card issuer as services not provided. These two paths are not mutually exclusive and pursuing both is reasonable when an airline has ignored a clear refund obligation.
For flights touching Europe or the UK, separate passenger-rights rules can provide fixed cash compensation on top of a refund, depending on delay length and cause. These apply to flights departing the EU or UK on any carrier, and to flights arriving there on EU or UK carriers.
Reducing your exposure before you book
Book early-morning flights, which are cancelled and delayed least often because the aircraft is already in position overnight. Avoid tight connections, particularly on the last flight of the day, where a missed connection means an overnight rather than a two-hour wait. Pay with a credit card that includes trip delay and cancellation coverage, which reimburses expenses airlines are not obliged to cover. And download the airline app and enable notifications before leaving for the airport, since app rebooking is typically faster than a phone queue or a gate line during a large disruption.
Sources
Last updated: August 16, 2026. Written by the InfoBrief Editorial team. We link to official government and company sources and update articles when facts change. See our disclosure.