Holiday travel season is close, and so are the delays. If an airline cancels your flight or changes it a lot, federal rules say what you are owed. The catch: the airline will often lead with a voucher, and you have to know you can say no.
Here is how the refund rules work, what counts as a “significant” change, and the steps to take. The rules below come from 14 CFR Part 260, the Department of Transportation regulation on airline refunds, as published in the eCFR (current through Oct. 22, 2026).
What the Rule Covers
Part 260 applies to tickets on scheduled flights to, from or within the United States. It covers two situations: a canceled flight, and a “significantly delayed or changed” flight.
A cancellation means a flight with a published flight number that the airline sold you but never operated. A significant change is defined by the clock:
- Domestic trips: the flight leaves, or arrives, three hours or more off the original schedule.
- International trips: six hours or more off schedule.
- Other changes also count: a different origin or destination airport, more connection points, or a downgrade to a lower class of service.
When You Are Owed a Refund
The regulation says a full refund of the airfare, including taxes and fees, is due when the airline cancels and does not offer you an alternative flight or a voucher, or when you reject the changed flight, the rebooking or any voucher. It is also due if you simply do not respond to an offer before the scheduled departure.
If you choose to fly the changed flight, or you accept the rebooking or a voucher, no refund is owed. That is the trap. Accepting the first offer on the airline’s app can close the door on a cash refund.
Unused extras such as checked bags or seat selection are covered too: the rule says airlines must refund those fees promptly and automatically when you did not get the service through no fault of your own.
How Fast the Money Must Arrive
- Credit card purchases: within 7 business days.
- Cash, check, debit card or other payment: within 20 calendar days.
The refund must go back in the original form of payment unless you agree to something else, and the airline may not keep a processing fee.
Step by Step: A Canceled or Badly Changed Flight
- Screenshot the cancellation or change notice, your original itinerary and the time of the notice. Keep your confirmation email.
- Look at what the airline offers. If the new flight works for you, taking it is fine. If it does not, decline it.
- Decline any voucher or credit unless you actually want it. The rule says an airline may not treat you as having accepted a voucher unless you affirmatively agree, and it must present the voucher as an explicit alternative to a refund.
- Ask for the refund in writing, through the airline’s app, website or email, and note the date. Cite the 7-business-day or 20-day deadline.
- If you paid by credit card and the deadline passes, you can also dispute the charge with your card issuer. Our guide to disputing a credit card charge covers the steps.
- If the airline still refuses, you can file a complaint with the Department of Transportation.
If You Accept a Voucher
Sometimes a credit is the right call, for example if you plan to rebook anyway. Under the rule, a voucher must stay valid for at least five years from the date it is issued, and the airline must tell you the expiration date and disclose material restrictions no later than the offer. Read those terms before you tap “accept.”
Delayed Bags Have Their Own Clock
For checked bags, the regulation sets a “significantly delayed” threshold of 12 hours after your last flight lands on domestic trips, and 15 or 30 hours on international trips depending on the flight length. To get a baggage fee refund you need a mishandled baggage report on file with the airline, so file it before you leave the airport.
The Catch
This guide reflects the regulation as it appeared in the eCFR on Oct. 22, 2026, which showed no changes since August 2024. The eCFR calls itself authoritative but unofficial, and DOT rules can change, so check the current text before a dispute. Nothing here covers compensation for meals or hotels, which is a separate matter.
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