Salazar Introduces the Flight Refund Fairness Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Mark Alford (R-MO) introduced H.R. 9552, the Flight Refund Fairness Act.

As one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world, Miami attracts millions of tourists who rely on adequate and fair travel policies. For those who book through travel agencies, liability for unexpected delays and cancellations can create headaches for travelers and agents alike. This legislation resolves that issue for small travel agencies, to ensure this does not negatively affect individuals who use travel agents to plan their vacations.

“Miami is the premier tourism hub and the small businesses that support this industry must be protected,” said Rep. Salazar. “The Flight Refund Fairness Act will remove a regulatory hurdle for small travel advisors that otherwise may jeopardize their business operations and burden travelers. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to ensure fair competition in the travel industry remains strong.”

The Flight Refund Fairness Act exempts small travel agencies or ticket agents from requirements obliging travel agencies broadly to produce a refund when flights are canceled. The responsibility for a prompt reimbursement will remain with the airline who canceled the flight. This change will allow small businesses to avoid heavy costs associated with a common occurrence within the industry that are out of their control.

“As the Co-Chair of the Travel and Tourism Caucus, I know the importance of travel advisors to the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries across the country, 80 percent of which are women-owned small businesses,” said Rep. Titus. “I’m proud to join the introduction of the Flight Refund Fairness Act so that we can protect these small businesses which continue to attract more visitors to Southern Nevada to experience everything the Las Vegas Valley has to offer.”

“The Flight Refund Fairness Act is a crucial step towards protecting small businesses from the rampant overreach of bureaucrats in Washington,” said Rep. Alford. “Local travel planners should not be held responsible for flight cancellations of large airlines. I’m proud to co-lead this bill that protects Main Street from Washington.”

“The Flight Refund Fairness Act recognizes that small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy. Ninety-eight percent of travel agencies are considered small businesses by the Small Business Administration, and those who use a travel advisor know they have someone in their corner working tirelessly to obtain their refund when a flight is cancelled. But a recent rule by the Department of Transportation puts the onus of providing that refund on travel agencies, which could be catastrophic to these small businesses. ASTA wholeheartedly thanks Representatives Salazar, Titus and Alford for recognizing this unfair new policy with their introduction H.R. 9552,” said American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) President & CEO Zane Kerby.

To read the full text of the legislation, click here.

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