The Department of Transportation has clarified that airlines are not required to cover meals or hotel costs when cancellations or long delays stem from aircraft recalls. The guidance, issued after Thanksgiving disruptions tied to inspections and software updates that affected about 6,000 Airbus planes, says such recalls are not "within an airline's control." Airlines must still honor any voluntary compensation policies they advertise, and the DOT will keep the guidance while it completes rule-making on disruption categories.
DOT Says Airlines Aren't Required To Pay Meals or Hotels After Aircraft Recalls — Guidance Follows Widespread Airbus Disruptions
A departure board lists delayed and cancelled flights at O'Hare International Airport, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)
The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued guidance clarifying that airlines are not required to pay passenger expenses — such as meals or hotel rooms — when flight cancellations or lengthy delays result from aircraft recalls.
Background
The guidance, released on Wednesday, follows widespread disruptions during last month’s busy Thanksgiving travel period, when carriers performed urgent inspections and software updates on a commonly used Airbus commercial aircraft. About 6,000 planes were affected as airlines worked quickly to implement fixes.
Airlines worldwide rushed to address a computer code issue linked to a sudden loss of altitude on a JetBlue flight in October that injured at least 15 people. Airbus said its review of the JetBlue incident identified a software glitch that could have impacted flight-control systems on the A320 family of aircraft — the A320 series is a primary competitor to Boeing’s 737.
What the DOT Guidance Says
Under U.S. rules, carriers must provide full refunds when they cancel a flight, regardless of the reason. But the Transportation Department makes clear that it does not require airlines to pay for lodging or meals for stranded passengers when disruptions are caused by aircraft recalls — even if the recalls stem from safety issues requiring immediate action.
The department said recalls should not be categorized as "within an airline's control," so airlines' voluntary customer-service commitments for "controllable" disruptions do not automatically apply in those cases. However, carriers remain free to offer vouchers, hotel stays or other assistance at their discretion and must honor any customer-service promises they advertise.
How Airlines Handle Compensation Today
Many U.S. carriers already offer varying levels of compensation for disruptions they deem "controllable" (for example, crew scheduling problems or mechanical failures). Ten U.S. airlines, including legacy carriers Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, as well as low-cost carriers Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines, provide meal vouchers when a passenger waits three or more hours for a replacement flight after a controllable cancellation or delay. All but one of those ten — Frontier Airlines — also pledge to cover lodging when the carrier causes an overnight cancellation or delay.
Rule-Making And Policy Context
The DOT said the guidance will remain in effect while it continues rule-making to define how different types of flight disruptions should be categorized. In September, the Trump administration withdrew a Biden-era proposal that would have required (rather than left voluntary) compensation for major airline-caused disruptions — a change that would have moved U.S. policy closer to European-style consumer protections. The Transportation Department said that rollback aligned with the administration's regulatory priorities.
What passengers should know: You are entitled to a full refund for canceled flights, but airlines are not legally required to provide hotels or meals for delays caused by aircraft recalls. Check an airline's published customer-service commitments to see what assistance it may offer voluntarily.
