BWI passengers react as White House pushes for compensation for flight delays, cancellations

Well, all new at six o'clock. When you see a flight board that looks like this, full of delays, cancellations, I mean, you can't help but feel a little bit of anxiety, right? I mean, unexpected travel troubles are always the worst case scenario. But some new rules proposed by President Biden promise to help you breathe a little bit easier when your flight gets delayed or canceled. Dennis Valera went to BWI, Third Good Marshall Airport, because he wanted to see what travelers think about it. Lou Ann Blankenship knows too well the impact a delayed flight can make being stranded in Atlanta not once, but twice. Her experience though was different each time. The first time it happened, they put us up in a hotel and gave us meal vouchers.

But the second time it happened, there was nothing. We had to spend the night in the airport. It's why the Biden administration wants to make airlines more uniform when it comes to compensation, working on rules that would require it for meals, hotel rooms, transportation, read bookings, all on top of a ticket refund. This would apply to delays and cancellations that are not weather related and within the carriers control. I am irate. In December, we saw how thousands were stranded nationwide due to Southwest system meltdown. The US Department of Transportation says more than 180,000 flights, about 3% overall, were canceled last year.

The airline industry is calling these proposed rules unnecessary. We have no incentive to delay or cancel a flight. When that happens and it's within our control, we do everything we can to make our passengers whole. Linda and Thomas Porter have been traveling a lot since they've retired. At this point, they factor in delays when planning. We needed to come to his high school reunion. And the festivities didn't start until Friday night.

We got here Tuesday because I don't trust the airlines. They like the idea of these rules, hoping they really help travelers in need. Kind of gives the airlines a little kick in the butt, if you will, to start being a little, to think of the customer that's been delayed. While the new regulations could come out later this year, it takes some time before they actually go into effect, anywhere from about a year to two years. Reporting at BWI, I'm Dennis Valera for WJZ.

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