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Flight canceled: What rights do you have?
Delta Airlines is expected to resume normal operations more than a week after the CrowdStrike outage. But airline travelers are still dealing with delays. So what can you do if your plans are thrown into chaos?
LOS ANGELES - Terminal 3 at LAX this week was a place filled with frowns. That's Delta's terminal and many passengers were upset over the delays and cancellations created when a software application failed at CrowdStrike.
Travelers were "mad," and "tired." "I just want to go home," one said.
So, what can you do if your travel plans are thrown into chaos? According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, "Airlines have an obligation to provide prompt refunds to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, when the airline cancels or significantly changes a flight and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered, regardless of the reason."
Renita Lobo is stuck at LAX. She's trying to get back to Canada. She told FOX11 that she's "way past my limits, because now I have to ask for hotels. I have to ask for meal vouchers, and I've already exceeded my budget."
That was back on day one of the airline crisis. She was told what was happening was not the airline's fault but, CrowdStrike's which had a major computer software glitch.
The DOT says that in controllable cancellations:
- Passengers should be re-booked at no additional cost.
- There should be meal vouchers when cancellations result in passengers waiting for three hours or more for a new flight.
- Complimentary hotel and ground transportation should be provided for overnight cancellations.
- Cash compensation should be provided when a cancellation results in a delay of three hours or more from a scheduled departure time.
The DOT has an online portal, which shows which airlines follow those commitments at airlinerights.gov.
"Really, they should be getting compensated back," said Omar Kaywan of SmartBunny Insurance. "And I know that Delta Airlines [offered] 10,000 or 12,000 miles to compensate people who were affected by the 400 flight cancellations yesterday, which is really not a lot."
So, just to protect yourselves Kaywan says, "Hold on to your receipts, including anything that you've spent on. File a complaint with the DOT as soon as possible. Work with the airline to get a refund. If you've used a credit card, look into your credit card benefits to see if you are eligible for that."