A group of U.S. lawmakers is urging the Department of Transportation to revisit a controversial 2024 rule that, in some cases, requires travel agencies to issue airline ticket refunds out of their own pockets — a policy drawing strong pushback from the travel advisor community.
The letter, led by Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas and signed by eight additional House members, calls on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to review the rule, which critics say unfairly shifts financial liability from airlines to the travel agencies that sell their tickets.
“Requiring small business travel advisors to extend credit from their own pockets to pay airline refunds is a gross misplacement of responsibility that must be rectified,” Zane Kerby, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors, said in a statement. “I applaud these members of Congress for recognizing this inequity and taking our plight to new leadership at the Department of Transportation.”
Lawmakers argue that the rule imposes a financial burden that many agencies, often operating on slim profit margins, simply cannot bear. The letter pushes back on the department’s position that the market will self-correct.
“Our constituents convey that all history points to the contrary, and the financial burden placed on these businesses is not sustainable,” the letter states.
The American Society of Travel Advisors has made reversing the rule its top policy priority. The organization is working through both regulatory and legislative channels and is urging its members to continue pressing lawmakers to take action.
“Travel agencies should not be expected to act as banks for the airlines,” Kerby added. “This is about fairness and ensuring that the parties responsible for service failures — the airlines — are also responsible for the refunds. Our members are being saddled with financial obligations they neither caused nor can afford.”
The group also emphasized that the current regulation lacks a clearly defined timeline for airlines to return customer funds, which leaves agencies financially exposed.
“The department’s assumption that the market will resolve these issues is detached from the reality our members face every day,” said Kerby. “If policymakers are serious about supporting small businesses, they must act swiftly to revise this rule. Until then, we will continue to advocate relentlessly for a regulatory fix.”
The letter was signed by Reps. Mike Bost of Illinois, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, French Hill of Arkansas, Kimberlyn King-Hinds of the Northern Mariana Islands, Rich McCormick of Georgia, María Elvira Salazar of Florida, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, and Daniel Webster of Florida.
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