Travelers wait in line on the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter at Nashville International Airport after the airline cancelled 1000’s of flights in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 27, 2022.

Seth Herald/AFP through Getty Images

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Seth Herald/AFP through Getty Images

Travelers wait in line on the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter at Nashville International Airport after the airline cancelled 1000’s of flights in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 27, 2022.

Seth Herald/AFP through Getty Images

The Biden administration is looking for new laws to deal with the surprising prices and inconveniences skilled by passengers after the widespread flight disruptions this previous winter.

Those laws might embody requiring airways to compensate passengers in addition to cowl their meals and resort rooms in circumstances of preventable delays and cancelations.

President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are anticipated to announce the beginning of the rulemaking course of on Monday afternoon — simply weeks earlier than the busy summer time journey season.

As of proper now, just about no airline presents money compensation along with refunds or facilities, in keeping with the White House.

Policies mandating any such further compensation exist already in Canada and the European Union, the White House mentioned — and one examine confirmed such laws led to fewer flight delays within the EU.

In addition to the brand new guidelines, the Transportation Department has expanded its on-line Airline Customer Service Dashboard, which tracks every airline’s insurance policies on refunds and compensation when flights are cancelled or delayed.

The strain for airways to enhance their customer support comes after widespread flight disruptions through the vacation season. Southwest canceled greater than 16,000 flights between Christmas and the New Year, as large winter storm coincided with the collapse of the corporate’s outdated crew-scheduling software. Passengers all through the nation had been left stranded for days with surprising prices.

During a Senate hearing in February, Southwest Airlines chief working officer Andrew Watterson mentioned the corporate was working exhausting to refund airfares for canceled flights and to reimburse clients for additional bills that they incurred, like accommodations and meals.

“I want to sincerely and humbly apologize to those impacted by the disruption. It caused a tremendous amount of anguish, inconvenience and missed opportunities for our customers and our employees,” Watterson mentioned.

Despite the airline’s efforts, the Transportation Department is at the moment investigating the airline firm’s vacation journey debacle and whether or not Southwest set unrealistic flight schedules.