If your next flight gets delayed or canceled, compensation could look different

A new rule announced last month by the Department of Transportation may impact future air travel if your flights get delayed or canceled. Ten types of flight disruptions will no longer be considered the fault of the air carrier; they include things like aircraft damage caused by extreme weather or the removal of an unruly passenger.

"Or if you have a passenger with a medical event, for example, that's clearly not a carrier-caused event, but it nevertheless you know causes a delay," said Robert W. Mann Jr., an industry analyst and former airline executive.

The full list of disruptions includes:

1. Aircraft cleaning necessitated by the death of a passenger,

2. Aircraft damage caused by extreme weather, foreign object debris, or sabotage,

3. A baggage or cargo loading delay caused by an outage of a bag system not controlled by a carrier or its contractor,

4. Cybersecurity attacks (provided that the air carrier is in compliance with applicable cybersecurity regulations),

5. A shutdown or system failure of government systems that directly affects the ability of an air carrier to conduct flights safely and is unexpected,

6. Overheated brakes due to a safety incident resulting in the use of emergency procedures,

7. Unscheduled maintenance, including in response to an airworthiness directive, manifesting outside a scheduled maintenance program that cannot be deferred or must be addressed before flight,

8. An emergency that required medical attention through no fault of the carrier,

9. The removal of an unruly passenger, and

10. An airport closure due to the presence of volcanic ash, wind, or wind shear.

Mann said that for the airlines, the change could help them avoid some expenses. "You don't avoid people screaming at you because they do, and rightly so, understandably. But you can at least not have to write all these checks or send out all these vouchers."

So for customers, it may mean more unexpected costs and less compensation when travel plans go awry.

"And ultimately, that may mean buying your own meals and buying your own hotel, you know, if it comes down to that,” Mann said.

These changes were supposed to go into effect last week but have been pushed to February 2027. Marketplace contacted the Department of Transportation for a comment, and a spokesperson pointed out that Congress directed DOT to make these changes in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which President Joe Biden signed into law.

The Department's full response is below:

"Congress explicitly directed DOT in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 to make these changes. Joe Biden signed it into law. These 10 specific types of flight disruptions will now will be tracked in a brand-new reporting category to ensure government delay data accurately reflects what airlines can and cannot control. Going forward, only certain unscheduled maintenance will classify as not controllable. That includes unscheduled maintenance occurring outside a scheduled maintenance program that cannot be delayed or must be addressed before the flight. This also includes unscheduled maintenance conducted in response to a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive. Other forms of unscheduled maintenance that fall outside this specific criteria will continue to be classified as controllable by the airline. In accordance with the law, when a delay or cancellation is caused by a controllable event, airlines must adhere to their customer service commitments and provide the agreed upon accommodations."