Transportation Department pauses automatic refund rules for renumbered flights

the Ministry of Transportation The DOT announced Friday that it will temporarily suspend refund obligations when airlines change flight numbers, relaxing a rule that treats renumbered flights as cancellations that warrant passenger refunds.

Regulations established by you Biden administration In 2024, flights indicated with a different number than the one assigned when the consumer purchased a ticket will be considered new flights, with the original flight considered canceled and eligible for a refund.

The Ministry of Transport said that it will not implement requirements related to refunds when renumbering a flight, as of now, immediately. The passenger is rebooked On the flight under the new number and the flight is operated without any “significant change or delay”.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has not yet commented on the pause, which took effect on December 5. (Reuters/Anna Rose Leyden/Reuters Photos)

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The announcement follows a review in April which sought to reduce the burden on airlines to make operational or commercial changes that do not severely impact passengers.

The Department of Transport also received a request for an implementation estimate of two American carriers After their merger. In this request, the airlines described the need to renumber tens of thousands of flights for operational integrity and FAA compliance.

The Ministry of Transport decided that passengers were not harmed by the renumbering and approved the request.

The pause will take effect when the Department of Transportation decides whether it wants to roll back the Biden-era regulations. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images/Getty Images)

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Recently, officials said, the administration received word from another party American airline Calling for a review of the current definition of a canceled flight as set by the previous administration, arguing that the definition is not required by law, does not reflect the reality of airline operations and is “too broad.”

Implementation will be paused until June 30, pending a decision on whether to move forward with a final rule to change the definition of a canceled flight, according to the Department of Transportation.

It is unclear which airlines submitted the requests that led to the review. (Reuters/Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

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“The Department is taking this interim step to temporarily pause implementation of the refund requirements under these specific limited circumstances while it engages in new rulemaking to consider whether to modify the definition of canceled flight through the rulemaking,” the officials wrote in a document published Friday in the Federal Register.

A final decision is expected in February, allowing a comment period for stakeholders to provide their input.

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The Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.