US DOT flight delay rules
The United States has no statutory compensation for a delayed flight, however long it lasts. What US rules do give you is an automatic cash refund when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed, and compensation when you are bumped from an oversold flight.
Check your own flight against US DOT rules →Who it covers
- Flights to, from and within the United States, on US and foreign carriers operating those routes.
- A flight from the EU to the US is also covered by EU261, which does pay for delay. On that route, claim under EU261 — it is worth far more.
What it pays
| Distance or situation | Per passenger |
|---|---|
| Delay, any length | No statutory compensation |
| Cancellation or significant change | Refund of the unused fare, in the original form of payment |
| Denied boarding (bumping), involuntary | A percentage of your one-way fare, subject to a cap the DOT adjusts for inflation |
What triggers it
Delay
No payment is owed by law. Individual airlines make their own commitments in their customer service plans, and those commitments are enforceable against them — read the plan for the carrier you flew.
Cancellation or significant change
You are entitled to a refund rather than a voucher, automatically and without asking, if you do not accept the alternative offered.
Involuntary denied boarding
Compensation is calculated from your one-way fare and how late the airline gets you to your destination, up to a capped maximum.
Duty of care — separate from compensation
US law imposes no duty of care. There is no legal right to a meal, a phone call or a hotel, however long you wait. Anything you receive is the airline's own policy, not your entitlement — which is exactly why a delay in the US is worth so much less than the same delay in Europe.
The refusals airlines send, and what answers them
“Here is a voucher for your cancelled flight”
Where you are entitled to a refund you may insist on the original form of payment. A voucher is something you may accept, not something you can be given instead.
“The delay was weather”
For US purposes the cause rarely matters, because no compensation is owed for delay either way. What matters is whether the flight was ultimately cancelled or changed enough to trigger the refund right.
Enforcement
Complaints go to the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The DOT does investigate and does fine airlines, and a complaint on the record is worth filing even when no money comes back to you directly.
How long you have
Contract claims against an airline are governed by the carrier's conditions of carriage and by state limitation law, which varies. File early.
Questions
How much does US DOT rules pay?
No statutory compensation for delay, any length; Refund of the unused fare, in the original form of payment for cancellation or significant change; A percentage of your one-way fare, subject to a cap the DOT adjusts for inflation for denied boarding (bumping), involuntary.
How long do I have to claim?
Contract claims against an airline are governed by the carrier's conditions of carriage and by state limitation law, which varies. File early.
Who enforces it?
Complaints go to the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The DOT does investigate and does fine airlines, and a complaint on the record is worth filing even when no money comes back to you directly.
Primary sources
Read the law itself rather than anyone's summary of it, this one included. Every link below was checked on 12 September 2026.
- Aviation consumer protection — US Department of Transportation
- File an air travel complaint — US Department of Transportation
By situation, rather than by statute
If you would rather start from what happened than from which law applies: my flight was cancelled · they are blaming a strike · they are blaming a technical fault · I was denied boarding · I am stuck at the airport · I missed my connection · they moved me to a lower class · my bag did not arrive · they say it was extraordinary · should I use a claim company?
Worked examples on real routes
Where this law and another both reach the same flight, and which pays more:
The other statutes
- EU261 compensation — EU261
- UK261 compensation — UK261
- Israeli Aviation Services Law — the Aviation Services Law
- Canada APPR compensation — the APPR
- Montreal Convention 1999 — the Montreal Convention
- Russia Air Code Article 120 — Article 120 of the Air Code
- SHY passenger rights, Turkey — the SHY-Passenger Regulation
- India DGCA rules — the DGCA CAR
- ANAC Resolution 400, Brazil — ANAC Resolution 400
- Thailand CAAT rules — the CAAT passenger rules
- Indonesia PM 89/2015 — Ministerial Regulation PM 89
- Saudi GACA passenger rights — the GACA customer protection rules