CONSUMER ALERT: Senators want cash for flight delays. But will their bill fly?

A new bill promises cash for cancellations. Here’s what it really means for your next flight.

You know the drill. You’re on a plane, stuck at the gate. The pilot says it’s a “mechanical” delay. You wait for hours. Finally, they usher you off the aircraft and hand you a voucher that pays for half a cold sandwich.

Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) think you deserve better.

Specifically, they think you deserve cash.

The lawmakers have introduced legislation that would force airlines to pay passengers for delays and cancellations, modeling the rules after the European Union’s EC 261.

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