Biden-era plan to compensate passengers for flight delays, cancellations scrapped

• The 2024 proposal was popular among consumers frustrated by widespread delays and cancellations.
• However, the Transportation Department said in its withdrawal notice that airlines already have incentives to reimburse passengers voluntarily, with four of the largest making that commitment.

Driving the news: The department said that its interpretation of federal law does not give the agency the power to require specific reimbursements to passengers for flight disruptions.

• The agency added that enforcing such a rule would "impose significant costs on airlines, and potentially consumers."

State of play: The move follows the end of the nation's longest-ever government shutdown, which is still expected to complicate travel heading into the holidays.

• A coalition of 18 Democratic Senators last month urged the Trump administration to permit the Biden-era consumer protections.
• "This is a common-sense proposal: when an airline's mistake imposes unanticipated costs on families, the airline should try to remedy the situation by providing accommodations to consumers and helping cover their costs," the letter said.

What they're saying: "A4A carriers provide automatic refunds for significant delays and cancellations if a passenger chooses not to be rebooked, and they have competitive policies regarding reimbursements for food, transportation and lodging for cancellations and significant delays within a carrier's control," Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said in a statement.

• "Airlines' entire business model is based on satisfied, repeat customers and they compete rigorously to provide quality service."