The Biden administration issued final rules Wednesday that require airlines to robotically pay cash refunds for things like delayed flights and higher disclose baggage or cancellation fees.

The Department of Transport said airlines would be required to provide automatic cash refunds inside days for canceled flights and “significant” delays.

Under current regulations, airlines determine how long a delay must last before refunds are triggered. The administration removes this leeway by defining a major delay as lasting a minimum of three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

Airlines will still be able to offer one other flight or travel credit as an alternative, but consumers will be able to decline the offer.

This rule will also apply to refunds for checked baggage if the bags is just not delivered inside 12 hours for domestic flights or 15-30 hours for international flights. It will also apply to seat selection or web connection fees if the airline doesn’t provide the service.

Complaints about refunds have skyrocketed in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic as airlines canceled flights, and even after they didn’t, many individuals didn’t feel protected sharing a plane cabin with other passengers.

Airlines for America, a trade group for large U.S. carriers, noted that the variety of refund complaints filed with the Department of Transportation has dropped sharply since mid-2020. A spokesman for the group said the airlines “offer a range of options – including fully refundable fares – to make air travel more accessible and help customers choose the tickets that best suit their needs.”

The group said the 11 largest U.S. airlines returned $43 billion to customers between 2020 and 2023.

The Department of Transportation has issued a separate rule requiring airlines and ticketing agents to disclose upfront fees for checked and carry-on baggage, and for cancellations or changes to reservations. On airline web sites, fees must be visible the primary time you see the worth and flight schedule.

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The rule will also oblige airlines to inform passengers that they’ve a guaranteed seat for which they do not need to pay extra, even though it doesn’t prohibit airlines from charging fees for choosing certain seats. Many airlines now charge extra for certain seats, including seats in exit rows and near the front of the cabin.

The agency said the rule would save consumers greater than $500 million a 12 months.

Airlines for America said its members “offer consumers transparency and choice” from the primary search.

The recent rules will apply for the following two years. They are a part of a broad administration attack on what President Joe Biden calls “junk fees.” Last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that his department would allow state officials in 15 states to help implement federal airline consumer protection laws.

Pamela Hill-Veal, a black woman from Chicago, filed a complaint against American Airlines alleging racial discrimination by a flight attendant. Hill-Veal, who was flying top quality, reported that she was harassed by a flight attendant on February 10 after using the plane’s first-class bathroom.

The complaint, which was sent to American Airlines and received by , detailed this Hill-Veal and her family were flying top quality from Chicago to Phoenix. As she was returning to her seat from the toilet, she was stopped by an anonymous stewardess. “As I was returning to my seat, the flight attendant stopped me and told me that ‘I slammed the toilet door and I shouldn’t do that again because the passengers were sleeping on the plane,'” Hill-Veal said in an interview with . She said she never slammed any doors, but when she tried to make use of the restroom again in top quality, the identical flight attendant stopped her.

Hill-Veal, a retired Illinois district court judge, said American Airlines contacted her to learn more about what happened to her.

The airline said: “We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience and we take any allegations of discrimination very seriously.”

Hill-Veal recalled the moment the flight attendant began admonishing her.

“He started berating me, pointing his finger at my face and saying, ‘I told you not to slam the door… so from now on you have to use the toilet at the end of the plane,’ pointing in the direction of the toilet on the coach.”

She believes the issue was racially motivated because she saw other white people doing the identical and never being treated the identical way as she was.

As she was leaving, a rude flight attendant followed her to her seat and physically tried to remove her.

In the complaint, Hill-Veal stated that a flight attendant told her she could be arrested because “he didn’t like the way (she) was talking to him” and accused Hill-Veal of hitting him.

“It was a complete fabrication because I told him I never hit him,” she insisted.

Hill-Veal stated that the incident affected her. She loses sleep and feels humiliated by what happened.

“I still don’t feel comfortable flying because I don’t know what they’re going to say about me doing it… trying to hide what they did at that particular time,” Hill-Veal said.

The Gullah Geechee individuals are descended from enslaved individuals who lived on the southeastern offshore islands, stretching from southern North Carolina to northern Florida. Isolation from land allowed the Gullah Geechee people preserving many West African traditions, including language, food, art and spiritual practices.

Marquetta “Queen Quet” Goodwine is a historian, environmental justice advocate, and leader Gullah Geechee Nation. In 2019, Queen Quet testified before Congress that climate change threatens the preservation of Gullah Geechee traditions, which include lucrative fishing, crabbing and farming. She asked members of Congress to offer funding to construct infrastructure to guard shorelines from erosion.

“Every part of what we do is to ensure our survival as native Gullah Geechees and the survival of our traditions,” said Queen Quet NBC News.

The owner is Tia Clark Casual crabbing with Tia in Charleston, South Carolina. She said higher temperatures have resulted in the lack of crab habitat. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the state recorded a record low level variety of blue crabs in 2023

“It terrifies me to think that our resources are gone because of climate change,” Clark saidNBC News.

In 2023, the Biden administration committed $15.5 million to assist protect greater than 41 million acres of lands and waters in the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to support projects that support diverse and underrepresented populations most impacted by climate change.” – Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo – he said at a press conference.

NOAA will spend $536,000 to rent latest staff to assist construct relationships between restoration organizations and the Gullah Geechee Association. These federal programs will help fight climate change, which is able to help protect and preserve the wealthy history and culture of the Gullah Geechee community.