Updated October 9, 2026
When an airline cancels or reshuffles your trip, the first message often offers a new flight, a voucher or a link to click. What you are owed depends on a few specific facts: what changed, how much it changed, whether you accept the alternative and where you bought the ticket. This guide walks through it as a series of if-then branches, using the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) consumer page.
The test that decides most cases
DOT defines a “significant change” for refund purposes. Any one of these can trigger a refund right if you decline the new itinerary:
| Change | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Departure moved earlier | 3+ hours (domestic) or 6+ hours (international) |
| Arrival moved later | 3+ hours (domestic) or 6+ hours (international) |
| Different origin or destination airport | Any change |
| More connections than before | Any increase |
| Involuntary downgrade in class of service | Any downgrade |
| Different connecting airport for a passenger with a disability | Any such change |
| Substitute aircraft for a passenger with a disability | A needed accessibility feature is unavailable |
If the airline cancels
If the airline cancels your flight, for any reason, and you do not want to travel or accept a credit or voucher.
You are entitled to a refund of the ticket price. DOT’s page says the reason does not matter, so weather and mechanical problems count too. For airline-direct tickets the refund should be automatic.
If the airline offers a rebooked flight and you ignore the offer and do not fly it.
DOT says the refund must still be issued automatically to your original form of payment, within 7 business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for other payment methods. 14 CFR 260.2 supplies the calendar-day definition. Under 14 CFR 260.6, the clock starts when you reject an alternative; if you give no response and do not travel, it starts when the relevant offered flight departs.
If the schedule changes
If your new arrival is 3 or more hours later on a domestic trip, and you decline it.
That is a significant change. Tell the airline you do not accept the new schedule and keep a copy of the message.
If your new arrival is only 2 hours 45 minutes later on a domestic trip.
That falls under the 3-hour threshold on its own. Look for other triggers in the table, such as a different airport or an extra connection.
Worked example (invented): You were due to land at 2:10 p.m. The airline moves you to 5:25 p.m. 5:25 − 2:10 = 3 hours 15 minutes, which meets the domestic threshold. If the new time were 4:55 p.m., the gap would be 2 hours 45 minutes, which does not.
If you accept something else
If you accept the rebooked flight and take it.
DOT says you are not entitled to a ticket refund under its rules. If you travel after an involuntary downgrade, the fare difference must still be refunded. You may also be owed meals or other amenities if the delay was in the airline’s control. DOT points travelers to the airline’s customer service plan and its dashboard for that.
If the airline offers a travel credit or voucher instead.
The airline must also tell you that you can have a refund. DOT says credits and vouchers must be valid for at least five years, and any material conditions must be disclosed. Accept one only if you actually want it.
If you did not buy from the airline
If you booked through a travel agent or online travel agency.
DOT says the “merchant of record,” the company named on your card statement, must make proper airfare refunds when the airline cancels or significantly changes a flight. Start with that company. Seat, bag and other add-on fees must be requested from the airline, even if the agent charged them.
If only the flight number changes
If your flight is simply renumbered, with the same schedule and no significant change.
The July 7, 2026 notice says DOT will not enforce the cancelled-flight refund requirements for a flight that is merely renumbered if you are rebooked on the new number and the flight runs without a significant change or delay. The pause runs to July 7, 2027 while a rulemaking is pending. If a renumbered flight also comes with a significant change or delay, the usual refund rules still apply.
If your bag is late
If you paid a checked-bag fee and the bag is lost or significantly delayed.
You are entitled to a refund of that fee. DOT’s page treats a domestic bag as significantly delayed if it has not been delivered within 12 hours after arrival. For international itineraries, the limit is 15 hours when the nonstop flight segment between the United States and the foreign point is 12 hours or less, and 30 hours when that segment is longer. The delay clock starts when you can deplane at the final destination, not simply at touchdown. File a mishandled baggage report with the airline. Exceptions include failing to collect or recheck a bag, or voluntarily agreeing to a later delivery after a late check-in or standby travel.
If you simply change your mind
If you bought a ticket directly from an airline at least seven days before departure, and it is still within 24 hours of booking.
DOT says airlines must offer either a 24-hour hold at the quoted price or a 24-hour full-refund cancellation. This rule does not apply to tickets booked through travel agents, although some agents offer similar terms.
If you bought a nonrefundable ticket, the flight operates as scheduled, and you cannot make it.
No ticket refund is owed under DOT’s rules.
What to save and where to complain
- Screenshots of the original itinerary, the change notice and every offer.
- The time you declined or accepted each offer.
- Your card statement showing who charged you.
- The mishandled baggage report number, if relevant.
If the airline or agent does not pay a refund you are owed, DOT accepts consumer complaints through its online complaint form.