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 — within seven business days for credit card purchases and twenty calendar days for cash, check, debit card and other payment methods, under the definition of a prompt refund in 14 CFR 260.2. 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 significantly delayed or lost. For a domestic itinerary, significantly delayed means not delivered within 12 hours of the last flight arriving; for international itineraries it is 15 hours where the nonstop international segment is 12 hours or less, and 30 hours where it is longer. You must file a Mishandled Baggage Report with the airline for the refund obligation to apply, so report it at the airport before you leave. Compensation for the contents is a separate claim; see lost and delayed luggage compensation.
- 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.
- No compensation for time stuck on the aircraft, although the tarmac delay rules set limits and minimum care on board.
The one clear exception is being bumped involuntarily from an oversold flight. There, federal rules do require the airline to pay compensation in cash or by check, calculated from your fare and the length of the delay. See compensation when you are bumped.
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, airlines must either let you cancel within 24 hours without penalty or hold the reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment (14 CFR 259.5). Where the airline uses the cancellation option, it applies to non-refundable fares too. The requirement is placed on airlines; if you booked through a travel agent, ask the agent how it applies to your ticket. 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. Our guide to UK flight delay compensation sets out which flights UK261 covers and the fixed amounts by distance.
Flying to, from or within Canada
Canada also has its own regime. The Air Passenger Protection Regulations apply to flights to, from and within Canada, including connections, and require fixed compensation from the airline when a delay or cancellation is within its control and not required for safety, you were told 14 days or less before departure, and you arrive three hours or more late. See Canada flight delay compensation for the amounts and the one-year claim deadline.
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.
- 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, contact us. We make the claim on your behalf and pass on what the airline pays.
The refund rule is 14 CFR Part 260. DOT occasionally issues enforcement notices that affect narrow scenarios, so check the DOT refunds page for anything current. The core thresholds — three hours domestic, six hours international — and the refund timelines are in the regulation text as published in October 2026.
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?
Seven business days for a credit card purchase and twenty calendar 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?
The refund entitlement itself comes from the airline's obligations under 14 CFR Part 260, so it does not disappear because an agent sold the ticket, but the request may need to go through the agent who holds the booking. Any agent service fee is governed by the agent's own terms. 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 itinerary, and you filed a Mishandled Baggage Report with the airline. This one is very commonly overlooked.
Sources
- 14 CFR Part 260, Refunds for Airline Fare and Ancillary Service Fees (eCFR)
- 14 CFR Part 259, including the 24-hour reservation requirement (eCFR)
- 14 CFR Part 250, Oversales (eCFR)
- US Department of Transportation: Refunds
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: which flights UK law covers
- Canada: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (Justice Laws)
General information, not legal advice about your situation. Rules change; confirm with the US Department of Transportation.