DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Enforcement Procedures
Current understanding
To be populated as evidence accumulates.
Evidence log
- 2026-07-07 — Airline Refunds and Other Consumer Protections: 2026 — DOT extended enforcement discretion for not pursuing refund actions against airlines for renumbered flights that operate without significant change or delay, buying time to finalize a pending rulemaking on the definition of flight cancellation. (novelty: 2) (novelty: 2)
- 2026-07-02 — Increasing Flexibility on Disclosure of Airline Ancillary Fees: DOT final rule restoring pre-2024 airline ancillary fee disclosure regulations (following Fifth Circuit vacatur of the 2024 transparency rule) illustrates the broader pattern of DOT rolling back recent consumer-protection rulemakings to prior baselines. (novelty: 2)
Open questions
Related
Contributing findings
Accessible Lavatories on Single-Aisle Aircraft and Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs
04-aug-2026
novelty 1
per-area 1
strengthens
Increasing Flexibility on Disclosure of Airline Ancillary Fees
02-jul-2026
novelty 2
per-area 2
strengthens
Procedures in Regulating and Enforcing Unfair or Deceptive Practices
01-jul-2026
novelty 2
per-area 2
strengthens
Rescinding Portions of Department of Transportation's Title VI Regulations To Conform More Closely With the Statutory Text and To Implement Executive Order 14281
11-jun-2026
novelty 3
per-area 2
mentions