Sometimes a flight is cancelled or changed so much that you no longer want to take it. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) sets rules for when an airline must give your money back. This page explains those rules in plain words, using only what DOT says.
DOT says you are entitled to a refund of the ticket price in these situations:
That includes cases where the disruption was caused by weather. For a cancelled flight, DOT says the refund right applies regardless of the reason for the cancellation.
Airlines are required to notify you about flight cancellations and significant delays or changes, and about your right to receive a refund.
DOT defines a significant change or significant delay to include:
If you bought your tickets directly from an airline, you are entitled to an automatic refund when the airline cancels or significantly delays or changes your flight and you do not accept the significantly changed flight, a rebooked flight, a travel credit or voucher, or alternative compensation such as frequent flyer miles.
DOT also says: if an airline offers to rebook you and you reject the offer, or you do not respond to the offer, a refund must be issued to you automatically without you having to make a request. In those situations, airlines will typically cancel your reservation on the significantly delayed flight or new flight.
Airlines may offer travel credits, vouchers, or other forms of compensation instead of a refund. When they do, they must also let you know that you are entitled to a refund. Any travel credits, vouchers, or other forms of compensation they offer must be valid for at least five years, and the airline must disclose any material restrictions, limitations, or conditions.
If you do not respond to an airline's offer for alternative transportation and do not fly on the offered alternative flight, DOT says the airline must provide the refund to the original form of payment. You do not have to take vouchers or credits if you do not accept them.
DOT gives these timelines:
For a rebooking offer you reject, DOT states the refund is due within 7 business days after you reject the offer if you paid by credit card, and within 20 calendar days after you reject the offer if you paid with another form of payment. If you do not respond and do not fly, the refund to the original form of payment is due within those same time frames after the significantly delayed or changed flight or alternative flight departs.
You are entitled to a refund of a checked baggage fee if you paid the fee and your baggage has been declared lost by the airline or has been significantly delayed.
DOT defines a significantly delayed bag this way:
To receive a refund of the baggage fee for a significantly delayed bag, you must file a mishandled baggage report with the airline. DOT encourages you to file the report as soon as you learn that your bag did not arrive with you at the destination. DOT notes some exceptions, for example if the delay was because you failed to pick up a bag that arrived on time.
Ancillary services are optional services an airline provides for a fee, beyond passenger air transportation. DOT gives examples such as transport of checked or carry-on baggage, advance seat selection, access to in-flight entertainment programs or Wi-Fi, in-flight beverages, snacks, meals, pillows and blankets, seat upgrades, and lounge access.
You are entitled to a refund of fees paid for ancillary services if the ancillary service was unavailable through no fault of your own — for example, broken Wi-Fi, the airline cancelled the flight, or you were involuntarily denied boarding.
A ticket being nonrefundable does not remove the refund right in the situations above. DOT's refund rules for a cancelled flight and for a significant delay or significant change apply when the airline cancelled or significantly changed the flight and you choose not to travel.
What is not covered is different: consumers who purchase non-refundable tickets and decide not to travel, or arrive at the airport late, are not entitled to a refund when the flight operates as scheduled.
DOT also says you are not entitled to a refund under DOT rules if you chose to take a significantly delayed or changed flight, or an alternative flight offered by the airline. And a consumer who takes a flight but has a bad customer service experience is not entitled to a refund.
Ticket agents — travel agents or online travel agencies — that are the merchant of record are required to make proper refunds of airfare when a flight to, from, or within the United States is cancelled or significantly changed by an airline. The merchant of record is the entity shown on your debit or credit card charge statement, and merchants of record are responsible for issuing refunds when they are due.
For ancillary service fees and checked baggage fees, DOT says you must request a refund from the airline, even if a ticket agent was the merchant of record for that fee.
DOT says that for the fastest resolution of many air service-related issues, contact an airline or ticket agent's customer service representative first. You may also file a complaint with DOT if the issue could not be resolved to your satisfaction.
Passengers can file complaints with DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection through its online complaint form, on transportation.gov. You may also send DOT correspondence by mail to: Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.
DOT requires airlines to acknowledge consumer complaints within 30 days of receiving them and to send consumers written responses addressing the complaints within 60 days of receiving them. When you submit a complaint to DOT, the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection ensures the airline or travel agency receives it and directs it to respond directly to you, with a copy to the Office.
U.S. Department of Transportation — “Refunds” (Air Travel Consumer Protection), transportation.gov
U.S. Department of Transportation — “Refunds and Other Consumer Protections” (final rule on automatic refunds), transportation.gov
U.S. Department of Transportation — “Air Travel Complaints,” transportation.gov
Checked November 2026.