Guide
Your refund rights when a flight is cancelled or delayed
If a US airline cancels your flight, or delays or changes it significantly, and you choose not to travel, you are entitled to your money back — in cash, to your original payment method, automatically. Not a voucher, not a credit, and not only if you ask nicely.
On this page
What counts as significant
The Department of Transportation defines the thresholds, so this is not a matter of airline discretion:
| Flight type | Delay that counts as significant |
|---|---|
| Domestic | 3 hours or more |
| International | 6 hours or more |
A significant change also covers things other than time: a change of departure or arrival airport, an added connection, a downgrade to a lower class of service, or a change to an aircraft or connection that is less accessible for a passenger with a disability.
What "automatic" means, and what it does not
Airlines are required to issue the refund without you having to fill in a form or chase them, and to do it promptly — broadly within seven business days for credit card purchases and twenty days for other payment methods. In practice, "automatic" is often the gap between what should happen and what does. If it has not appeared, chase it, and keep a record of the cancellation notice.
What else is refundable
- Baggage fees, if your checked bag is not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight arriving, or within the relevant window for international flights.
- Fees for services you paid for and did not receive — seat selection, wifi, an upgrade — if the airline did not provide them.
- The whole ticket, both directions, if the cancelled flight was the outbound and the return no longer serves any purpose.
What US rules do not give you
This is where expectations and reality part company. There is no US equivalent of the European compensation regime. US rules require a refund of what you paid; they do not require a cash payment on top as compensation for the disruption itself.
- No statutory compensation for a delay, however long.
- No statutory right to a hotel or a meal, though individual airlines make commitments of their own, particularly for cancellations within their control.
- Nothing at all where the airline gets you there and you travel — the refund right exists because you did not fly.
Airlines publish their own customer service commitments and DOT holds them to those. Whether meals and hotels are provided usually turns on whether the disruption was within the airline's control — a mechanical problem generally is, weather generally is not.
The 24-hour rule
Separately, and often forgotten: for a booking made at least seven days before departure, you may cancel within 24 hours of booking and receive a full refund. This applies to bookings made through ticket agents as well as directly with airlines, and it applies to non-refundable fares. It is the single most useful consumer rule in US air travel and almost nobody uses it.
Flying to or from Europe or the UK
Different rules may apply to the same journey. UK and EU regulations can provide fixed cash compensation for long delays and cancellations, in addition to a refund, depending on where the flight departed from and which airline operated it. Broadly, a flight departing the UK or EU is covered regardless of carrier, and a flight arriving there is covered if operated by a UK or EU carrier.
If your journey touches the UK or Europe, check that route separately — the amounts involved are often substantially more than a US refund.
How to actually get the money
- Decline the voucher, in writing if you can. Accepting a credit can be treated as accepting the alternative. Say clearly that you want a refund to the original payment method.
- Keep the evidence. Screenshot the cancellation or delay notification with the times on it. Airlines update schedules and the record of what you were told can disappear.
- Ask once, then escalate. Give the airline a reasonable chance, then file a complaint with the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division. Airlines are required to respond to DOT complaints, and they respond noticeably faster to those than to a fourth email.
- Card chargeback as a last resort. If a refund is owed and refused, your card issuer is another route. Use it after the airline has genuinely failed, not instead of asking.
- If we booked it, call us. We make the claim on your behalf and pass on what the airline pays.
One current nuance worth knowing: DOT has paused enforcement of one narrow scenario involving renumbered flights through 30 June 2026. The core thresholds — three hours domestic, six hours international — and the refund timelines remain fully in force.
Common questions
My flight was delayed four hours and I flew anyway. What am I owed?
Under US rules, nothing. The refund entitlement applies where the flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel. If you took the flight, there is no statutory payment. Check the airline's own policy, and check UK or EU rules if the journey touched Europe.
The airline only offered me a voucher. Do I have to take it?
No. Where the refund entitlement applies you may insist on cash back to your original payment method. A voucher is only worth taking if you are confident you will use it before it expires.
How long should a refund take?
Broadly seven business days for a credit card purchase and twenty days for other payment methods. Beyond that, chase it and then complain to DOT.
Does this apply if I booked through an agent rather than the airline?
Yes. The rules cover ticket agents as well as carriers. If we issued your ticket, we handle the claim for you.
What if the delay was caused by weather?
The refund entitlement does not depend on whose fault it was. If the flight is cancelled or significantly delayed and you decline to travel, the refund is owed regardless of cause. What weather does affect is whether the airline provides meals or a hotel, which is a matter of its own policy.
My bag arrived two days late. Can I get the bag fee back?
Yes, if the bag was not delivered within the relevant window, which is 12 hours for a domestic flight. This one is very commonly overlooked.
General information, not legal advice about your situation. Rules change; confirm with the US Department of Transportation.