Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey is leading a coalition of senators from his state, Connecticut and Rhode Island in an effort to protect air travelers.
They are introducing cash refunds for flight cancellations following sky-high cancellation rates.
Ed Markey and Liz Warren of Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have filed the Cash Refunds for Flight Cancellations Act to make sure consumers have a right to a full cash refund in the event their flight is cancelled.
“Enough is enough: Travelers are sick of wasting their valuable time fighting the airlines to receive their legally-required cash refunds,” said Senator Markey. “And they are tired of making flight reservations months in advance, only to face a health scare that forces them to choose between cancelling a nonrefundable flight, or traveling and risking the health of their fellow passengers.”
“This measure will put money back into the pockets of consumers suffering from airline travel chaos,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Faced with record delays and cancellations, travelers deserve their money back in cash—not airline vouchers—when their plans are unexpectedly upended. By requiring full cash refunds, our legislation is an important first-step towards airline accountability and restoring reliability and fairness to Americans’ air travel experiences.”
“This bill is a common-sense step to lighten the burden on air passengers who have faced particularly stressful travel conditions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Whitehouse. “It’s bad enough to miss out on vacation time when your flight gets cancelled or an emergency pops up. You shouldn’t also have to fight tooth and nail with an airline for your legally required cash refund.”
This bill would codify the Transportation Department rule that requires major airlines to offer their customers a cash refund if the airline cancels a flight or if it has a considerable delay. It also would provide a new right to a refund if they cancel their ticket up until 48 hours before the scheduled departure.
(Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
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