American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and several of the nation’s other top carriers are spelling out their policies on giving meal and hotel vouchers to passengers stranded by airline-caused delays and cancellations after regulators threatened tougher rules following a summer of travel turmoil.
Putting those policies in writing is a response to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s increasing pressure on airlines to take care of passengers after a year of elevated delays and cancellations. In an Aug. 19 letter to airline executives, Buttigieg told them, “We are also contemplating options for rulemaking that would further expand the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions.”
He also specifically asked airlines to update their customer service plans to give customers food for airline-caused delays of more than three hours. Those plans show what airlines promise to do after selling a passenger a ticket, spelling out everything from check-in times to what to do when bags are lost or damaged.
