Airlines Will Soon Have to Refund Baggage Charges If They Lose Your Baggage
Airlines love their baggage fees, and together they make billions from those fees every year . But finally, there is some good news for customers. The new law requires airlines to reimburse your fee in the event of the loss of your baggage, which seems fair enough.
The new law is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Reapproval Act 2016. It was signed this month and will come into force within a year. The measure reads:
No later than 1 year after the effective date of this Act, the Minister of Transport will issue final regulations requiring the covered air carrier to promptly provide automatic reimbursement to the passenger in the amount of any applicable surcharges paid if the covered air carrier charges the passenger a surcharge for registered air carrier. baggage, but the covered air carrier cannot deliver checked baggage to the passenger no later than 6 hours after the arrival of the domestic flight or 12 hours after the arrival of the international flight.
Some airlines already have rules for lost baggage, but they are usually not very good. Delta, for example, will allow you to apply online for a discount if your bag is more than 12 hours late. But as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out , the discount is a $ 25 e-travel voucher, not cash.
The law also requires airlines to reimburse other charges that were not delivered due to flight cancellations, and requires airlines to disclose and “conspicuously” their charges. You can see for yourself by following the links below.
Federal Aviation Administration Reapproval Act 2016 (PDF) | U.S. Senate Committee on Trade, Science, and Transportation via Consumerist