What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed for hours

The biggest problem with airline travel these days is all of the cancellations and delays. Most traveler complaints the last couple of years are about these disruptions, although the problems are declining. As we’ve detailed in our Plane Truth reports over the years, consumers filed a record number of  complaints against U.S. airlines in four of the last five years, from 2020 to 2024.

What should you do if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed (meaning an arrival three hours or more late)?

1. If you don’t already have it, get the airline’s app on your phone.
   
2. If you want a refund, you’re entitled to it. Most likely, you don’t want a refund. You probably just want to get where you were going as quickly as possible. You should simultaneously:

• Learn when the airline says it can get you on another flight, and see whether that works for you, and
• Check whether there’s another airline at the same airport that has seats available on its next flight to your destination.

3. If the airline can get you on the next flight and that works for you, that’s great. Depending on the airline, if the disruption is the airline’s fault (“controllable”), you still are eligible for some consideration for meal vouchers, hotels, ground transportation, etc., per the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT’s)commitment from the nine largest airlines. Request (nicely) what you’re entitled to.
   See the promises the airlines have made and that they must abide by.Here’s an important tip: Even if the cancellation or delay is not the airline’s fault and if the airline rebooks you and you’ll arrive three hours or more later, you can still ask the airline to cover your hotel, food and ground transportation. It doesn’t have to, but a customer service agent often will if you ask nicely and garner some sympathy.
4. If you can get a seat on another airline, ask the airline that canceled or delayed your flight to transfer your ticket at no cost to you. Airlines don’t have to do this unless it’s a “controllable” cancellation or delay and they’ve vowed to the DOT they’ll honor this.
   But many will do this, if you ask. As of May 2026, airlines that have made this vow: Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue and United.
   Those that have not: Allegiant, Frontier and Southwest.
5. If the airline can’t/won’t rebook you on their airline or with a competitor at a time that works for you, then you may have to regroup. This could mean buying a new ticket on another airline and using the money from the refund to cover all or most of the cost. (But you likely won’t get your refund for seven to 20 days, depending on how you paid.)
   If you want a refund and ask for it and the airline refuses or tries to push you toward a voucher that you don’t want, tell them it’s required by law (the FAA Reauthorization bill passed by Congress in May 2024). Then file a complaint with the DOT.
6. Be nice. No matter what happens, the person you’re dealing with probably didn’t cause your problem, but they might be able to help you fix it. Plus, it’s always a good idea to be nice.

Your rights when your flight is canceled or delayed:

While some flights are delayed because of severe weather, a security delay or FAA ground stop, an issue within the airline’s control ranks as the No. 1 or No. 2 reason for delays pretty much every month, according to the DOT.

“A controllable flight cancellation or delay is essentially a delay or cancellation caused by the airline. Examples include: maintenance or crew problems; cabin cleaning; baggage loading; and fueling,” the DOT says. In 2024, issues within the air carrier’s control was the No. 1 or No. 2 reason for delays every month.

What airlines must do when there’s a cancellation or significant delay within the airlines’ control:

• All of the nine largest carriers will rebook a passenger on their own airline.
• All of the nine largest carriers will provide money or a voucher for meals. 
• With a controllable cancellation or delay of three hours or more, six will rebook a passenger on a partner airline or another airline with which it has an agreement, at no additional cost to the customer: Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue and United.
  Three will not rebook with another airline: Allegiant, Frontier and Southwest.
• When a cancellation or delay within the airline’s control strands a customer overnight, all except Frontier will pay for a hotel and ground transportation to and from a hotel.
• In cases of cancellation or a delay of three hours or more, Frontier will only rebook with its own airline and provide cash or a voucher for a meal. Frontier is the only top nine airline that won’t provide overnight hotel accommodations or ground transportation to and from the hotel, even when the problem is its fault.
• None of the nine largest airlines have agreed to pay cash compensation for a canceled or significantly delayed flight in consideration of any inconvenience, stress or additional expenses. A proposal to require this was introduced in 2024; it was withdrawn in November 2025.

You also have legal rights if you are bumped from a flight, if your baggage is misplaced or lost or if you’re stuck on the tarmac. More on these issues below.

Here’s a look at your other rights:

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Read our analyses and recommendations
regarding the airline industry
going back to 2021