The CrowdStrike outage that led to a meltdown for airlines may be over, but people are still frustrated with how companies handled the flight schedule.
And the federal government is now investigating how Delta handled the situation.
The Department of Transportation has a sort of Bill of Rights for passengers. It states that people can get a refund if their flight is canceled and they decide to not take another flight. The refund should come the same way you paid.
We know issues like the CrowdStrike outage can make these moments tense, so if someone says you can’t get a refund or only offers you a voucher, do not take it!
Instead, file a complaint with the DOT and dispute the charge with your credit card company.
This applies to all flights that land or take off from the United States, but if your flight is significantly delayed and just keeps getting pushed back there is not a federal rule that requires the airline to compensate you.
At least, not yet.
Earlier this year, the DOT updated the rule to give passengers even more rights.
It defines a significantly delayed flight as three hours domestically and six hours internationally, along with some other protections about layovers and seating assignments.
The biggest change is that this rule would require refunds to be automatic by the airline. This means you wouldn’t have to spend time on the phone or in line requesting your money back, you would just get it.
Unfortunately, that rule is not yet in effect and likely won’t be until Spring of next year.
There have also been some lawsuits to stop that rule, but travel industry experts don’t think those cases will stick. Mostly because what they’re pushing back on has nothing to do with this scenario.
“The government wants airlines to put all the fees upfront when you search for a flight and the airlines say it’s just really not, there’s no way to make that happen seamlessly, so that’s where the fight really is right now," said Clint Henderson, the managing editor at The Points Guy.
Another question people have is "Will airlines compensate me for my time?"
For example, if you had to wait days and pay for an extra hotel room, rental car or anything like that.
The answer is... maybe.
There is no federal rule on this right now, but there is a proposal to do so, it’s just not currently in effect at this time.
This is also a public relations nightmare for some airlines and they want to keep your business.
Experts say to keep all your receipts and ask the airline to reimburse you for every dollar you spent from the moment you found out your flight was delayed or canceled.
There have already been instances where Delta is reimbursing people for those things right now and Southwest did something similar when they had tech issues back in 2022.
If you have a story you want Jackie De Tore to look into, FOX43 wants to find out. Send her a message on Facebook or send an email to FOX43FindsOut@FOX43.com. You can also join the FOX43 Finds Out Facebook Page.