Why you should never cancel your own flight during an airline ground stop

Grounded airline passengers across the U.S. are legally entitled to automatic cash refunds if flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

The Details

Federal rules require carriers to reimburse seat selection, Wi-Fi and delayed baggage fees when travelers do not receive those paid services.

Airlines must cover hotels and meals only for controllable disruptions, leaving stranded fliers to rely on credit card insurance during weather stops.

Airlines must issue full cash refunds to stranded U.S. travelers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed, though federal regulations do not require carriers to pay for hotels or meals during weather or government ground stops.

What we know

When sudden ground stops halt air traffic nationwide, stranded passengers scramble for rebookings, lodging and their money back. Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, travelers who choose not to fly are legally entitled to a full refund regardless of why the flight was grounded.

A significant delay is defined as three hours or more for domestic trips and six hours or more for international itineraries. Carriers cannot force fliers to accept travel credits or vouchers instead of cash.

Once a passenger rejects a rebooking offer, the airline must automatically refund the original form of payment within seven business days for credit card purchases. Cash and check purchases must be refunded within 20 calendar days.

ARE YOU STUCK AT THE AIRPORT? JOIN THE COVERSATION Uncontrollable flight disruption policies What we don't know:

Federal officials have not specified how many travelers will face ground stops during upcoming travel periods, nor have they detailed which specific airlines might offer voluntary accommodations beyond federal mandates.

By the numbers

Travelers are owed refunds for paid extras they did not receive, including seat selection fees and onboard Wi-Fi. Checked baggage fees must also be refunded if a bag is delayed more than 12 hours on a domestic flight or 15 to 30 hours on an international trip.

If a flier voluntarily accepts a travel voucher instead of a refund during a government-mandated disruption, federal rules require the voucher to remain valid for at least five years.

Airline hotel and meal coverage

The backstory

For travelers who still want to reach their destination, airlines will rebook them on their next available flight at no extra cost. However, federal law does not require carriers to cover hotel stays, meal vouchers or rebooking on rival airlines when disruptions are outside the carrier's control, such as severe weather, security threats, air traffic control outages or Federal Aviation Administration ground stops.

Under Transportation Department rules that took effect in October, certain operational issues are also classified as uncontrollable, meaning airlines do not have to pay for overnight lodging or meals. These include non-deferrable unscheduled maintenance, government system failures and onboard medical or unruly passenger emergencies.

When a delay or cancellation stems from a controllable issue—like an internal computer outage or crew scheduling failure—major U.S. carriers have committed to covering meal vouchers and hotel stays. Those airlines have also committed to rebooking passengers on partner carriers when available.

FAA ground stop: What are your rights if you’re stuck on the tarmac?

Big picture view

Federal regulations also protect passengers who are already sitting on a plane when a ground stop hits. Airlines cannot keep travelers on the tarmac for more than three hours on domestic flights, or four hours on international flights, without offering them a chance to return to the gate and deplane.

Exceptions apply only if the pilot determines there is a safety or security reason, or if air traffic control advises that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations. Once a tarmac delay reaches two hours, airlines must provide working lavatories, adequate food, drinking water and medical attention if needed.

What you can do

Consumer advocates advise stranded fliers not to cancel their own reservations before the airline officially cancels or significantly delays the flight. Canceling early can forfeit a passenger's right to an automatic cash refund.

Because airlines rarely cover hotels during weather or FAA ground stops, travelers should check the benefits on the credit card used to buy their tickets. Many travel rewards cards include trip delay insurance that reimburses $300 to $500 or more per ticket for lodging, meals and ground transportation once a delay hits six to 12 hours, regardless of the cause.

Passengers should keep itemized receipts and take screenshots of flight status notices showing the length and stated reason for the disruption. Those records help support insurance claims or federal complaints.

The Source

The information in this story was gathered from the U.S. Department of Transportation passenger protection regulations and consumer advocacy advice. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta, FOX News, and FOX Business reporting was also used.