Buttigieg says Trump admin’s move to cancel US flight delay compensation is unsurprising

Pete Buttigieg, the former Secretary of Transportation of the United States, said that the current Trump administration’s decision to cancel the proposed rule that would have resulted in passengers receiving compensation for flight disruptions was unsurprising.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Buttigieg said that Donald Trump, the “billionaire President put an airline lobbyist in charge of the Department of Transportation,” (DOT), making the move to cancel the proposed rulemaking that would have mandated airlines to compensate passengers for flight disruptions was “not a surprise.”

The DOT is headed by a former Fox News host, reality television star, and Congressman, Sean Duffy (pictured above). Duffy, during his tenure at BGR Group after leaving Congress, was involved in at least one airline lobbying campaign, representing the Partnership for Open Skies. His lobbying registration for the campaign can be found here.

The group, comprised of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, as well as several unions, wanted to “restore a level playing field under the Open Skies agreements with Qatar and the [United Arab Emirates].”

Nevertheless, according to the compensation rule’s page on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the rule, consistent with the DOT and the Trump administration’s “priorities, the Department plans to withdraw the ANPRM [Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – ed. note].”

The DOT, when it was still headed by the Biden administration, which pushed to introduce more consumer protections, including for those traveling via air, introduced the proposal on December 5, 2024.

At the time, the Department, led by Buttigieg, said that the ANPRM sought public comments from stakeholders on “requiring airlines to pay passengers cash compensation, rebook them for free on the next available flight, and cover meals, overnight lodging, and related transportation expenses when a disruption is airline-caused, such as a mechanical issue or an IT airline system breakdown.”

Buttigieg’s statement read that with the airline industry moving past the pandemic, breaking records, “we must continue to advance passenger protections.”

“This action we’re announcing is another step forward into a better era for commercial air travel—where the flying public is better protected and passengers aren’t expected to bear the cost of disruptions caused by airlines.”

Unsurprisingly, the ANPRM met heavy resistance from airline lobby groups and associations. On December 6, 2024, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that it was disappointed that the Biden administration is going through with the proposed rule, arguing that similar schemes in the European Union (EU) and Canada “have proven completely ineffective in reducing underlying delays or cancellations, the majority of which are outside the control of the airlines.”

On February 10, 2025, Airlines for America (A4A), which represents the interests of Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and other non-passenger airlines, began its lobbying campaign for the Trump administration to axe the proposed rule.

“[…] we express our earnest interest in collaborating with the Department on rulemakings that implement President Trump’s agenda and the Department’s focus “on ushering in a golden age of transportation while prioritizing the Department’s core mission of safety and delivering innovative projects that move America.”

According to A4A, the ANPRM, which Buttigieg “issued at the eleventh hour of the Biden Administration and after the American public elected President Trump,” is “irreparable.” It fails to recognize the “remarkable services provided by the airline industry” and contradicts Trump’s policies – that favor businesses over consumers – to “alleviate the American people from unnecessary regulatory burdens and reduce private expenditures required to comply with Federal regulations.”

The proposed rule was also “significantly flawed in fact and in law,” with A4A adding that if the rule is finalized, it “will only further serve the Biden Administration’s agenda, while failing to improve customer service.”

The association called for the proposed rule to be terminated.