Faster airline compensation: Congress lowers delay threshold for passenger refunds
H.R. 4193 — Time is Money Act · Filed by Max Miller (R-OH) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 26, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Transportation to lower the threshold for what counts as a 'significantly delayed or changed flight' from 3 hours to 2 hours for domestic flights and from 6 hours to 5 hours for international flights. The change would trigger airline compensation obligations sooner, meaning passengers would qualify for DOT-mandated refunds or rebooking assistance after shorter delays.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward consumer-protection measure that tightens airline accountability by lowering the delay threshold at which compensation obligations kick in. It does not deregulate, subsidize, or create carve-outs — it strengthens an existing passenger right.
What the text implies
- Airlines may respond by adjusting scheduling practices, padding flight times, or reclassifying delays to avoid the lower threshold — behavioral adaptation that could affect on-time reporting metrics.
- The 180-day implementation window gives airlines time to adjust compensation reserves and operational procedures, but may also allow lobbying pressure to delay or weaken the final rule.
- Passengers on connecting itineraries may face ambiguity about whether the 2-hour threshold applies to each leg or the total journey, depending on how DOT defines 'significantly delayed or changed flight' in the amended rule.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Passengers gain a concrete right to compensation sooner when flights are delayed, reducing the burden of absorbing delay costs themselves. Airlines face modestly higher compensation obligations, but this is a consumer protection that shifts accountability for operational failures to the carrier.
Who stands to gain
- airline passengers (direct compensation/refund recipients)
Named in the bill
Department of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation, 14 CFR 260.2, domestic airlines, international airlines
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jun 26, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 26, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (503 characters) on Jul 6, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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