How airlines lobbied away your flight compensation

After a $62 billion federal bailout, the airline industry secures the repeal of a key consumer protection.

(Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

If passengers book a flight from the European Union and it is canceled or significantly delayed for reasons within the airline's control, passengers are entitled to cash compensation. Under rules that have been in place since 2005, passengers receive €250 to €600 (roughly $300 to $700) depending on the length of the delay and the distance of the flight. This system ensures that passengers don't bear the full burden of delayed travel and provides a strong incentive for airlines to provide on-time service.

In the United States, things are very different. Passengers are not entitled to any compensation if their flight is delayed or canceled. (If the flight is canceled, passengers are entitled to a refund of the purchase price.) On a voluntary basis, a few airlines provide travel vouchers as compensation for long delays. No airline in the United States provides cash compensation.

That was supposed to change.

In May 2023, President Biden announced that his administration was proposing a new rule that would require all airlines to compensate passengers for significantly delayed or canceled flights. Under the rule, travelers in the United States would receive $200 to $775 for significant flight delays or cancellations caused by the airline. In 2023, 93,897 domestic flights were canceled and 95,024 were delayed more than three hours.

The rule was formally proposed in December 2024. Domestic airlines are well-positioned to absorb these costs. In the second quarter of 2025, for example, Delta recorded a $2.1 billion profit. The last 12 months have been profitable for most airlines, including Delta ($4.5 billion), United ($3.3 billion), American ($567 million), and Southwest ($392 million).

When the pandemic threatened the airlines' bottom line, the industry received $62 billion in bailouts from taxpayers. The bulk of that money will never be repaid.

Last week, however, the Trump administration quietly canceled plans to compensate U.S. passengers for delays and cancellations. A short entry in the Federal Register said that the rule was being withdrawn "[c]onsistent with Department and administration priorities." In a statement to the media, the Department of Transportation said, "Some of the rules proposed or adopted by the previous administration went beyond what Congress has required by statute, and we intend to reconsider those extra-statutory requirements."

"We are encouraged by this Department of Transportation reviewing unnecessary and burdensome regulations that exceed its authority and don’t solve issues important to our customers," Airlines for America, which represents Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, said in a statement.

The decision to reverse the proposed consumer protections, which are very popular, came after an aggressive lobbying campaign by Airlines for America and individual airlines. The industry used its influence, cash, and flattery to get their way.

Appointing a former airline lobbyist as Secretary of Transportation

The groundwork was laid to repeal the passenger compensation rule with the confirmation of former Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI) as Secretary of Transportation. In 2020, Duffy was hired as a lobbyist for The Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, a coalition that includes American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. In the first three months, the coalition paid Duffy's lobbying firm, BGR Government Affairs, $50,000 to represent the industry's interests.

Even after his lobbying role ended, Duffy continued to advocate for and defend the airline industry. After Southwest Airlines "cancelled 16,900 flights and stranded over two million passengers over the 2022 Christmas holiday and into the New Year," Duffy defended the company on national TV. "Capital markets work. … Southwest will fix this, [former Secretary of Transportation] Pete Buttigieg never will," Duffy said on Fox News on December 29, 2022.

Unsurprisingly, the airline industry was ecstatic when Duffy was subsequently nominated for Secretary of Transportation. "We are thrilled that President-elect Trump has chosen Congressman Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation," Airlines for America said in a statement. "Congressman Duffy has a proven track record for getting things done, and we are eager to collaborate with him on key issues impacting the U.S. airline industry."

Duffy was confirmed by a vote of 77-22. During his Senate hearings, Duffy was not questioned aggressively on "his longstanding ties to the airline industry or his vision on consumer protection."

Hiring the most influential lobbyist in the Trump orbit

Even with Duffy in charge of the Department of Transportation, the airline industry left nothing to chance. On February 10, 2025, Airlines for America hired Brian Ballard, the lobbyist who is widely known as having the most influence over Trump and his administration. Airlines for America is paying Ballard Partners $70,000 every three months to represent its interests. Trump's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, previously worked at Ballard Partners.

United Airlines also hired Ballard in March 2025 and is paying his lobbying firm $90,000 per quarter.

Flattery and millions of dollars for Trump

Major airlines benefiting from the repeal of the passenger compensation rule donated millions to Trump's inauguration and showered Trump with praise.

Shortly after Trump's 2024 election, Delta CEO Ed Bastian called Trump a "breath of fresh air" and praised Trump for pledging "to take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy within government, and the overreach our industry has experienced over the past four years." Delta later donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration.

United also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration. In April, when Trump began imposing draconian tariffs long opposed by the business community, United CEO Scott Kirby defended Trump. Kirby said that Trump "has a genuine desire to make things better for middle-class Americans" and advised people concerned about the tariffs to "take a breath."

Southwest CEO Robert Jordan said he believed the Trump administration would "be a little more business-friendly" and was hopeful that the Department of Transportation under Trump would be "a little less aggressive in terms of regulating or rule-making."

In an April letter to the Department of Transportation, Airlines for America lauded the Trump administration while harshly criticizing his predecessor. "We write to share our appreciation and support of President Trump’s deregulatory agenda and directives," the group wrote. "We look forward to President Trump and Secretary Duffy returning the Department to its clear and narrow mission and authorities and fully supporting Congress’s ongoing mandate to deregulate the airline industry." The letter claims the "the Biden/Buttigieg DOT issued overreaching rules regarding airline refunds, while also cherry-picking statutory authorities that supported its agenda." It claims refunds "do not benefit passengers, whose primary objective is to get to their destination, not get refunds."