“If the air travel miseries during the summer of 2022 have taught us anything, it’s that passengers flying in the United States are woefully unprotected against the callous disregard by the airline industry,” said William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger antitrust laws.

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It has gotten so bad that DOT has proposed new rules to expand some consumer rights. The changes would set a standard for how long a flight could be delayed without triggering a requirement for a refund. They would also make airlines provide credits with no expiration dates to passengers who don’t fly because of illness.

But the U.S. proposals don’t go as far as the European Union did when it passed its consumer protections, called EC 261, in 2004. McGee says European-style rules would offer a powerful incentive to do better.

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