(Photo : (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images))
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg outlined newly announced consumer protections during a press conference for airline customers that would force airlines to pay customers in cash rather than vouchers when inconvenienced by airlines due to travel delays.

Airlines are now mandated to issue automatic cash refunds to passengers whose flights have been cancelled or considerably delayed, following a new rule passed by the Biden administration on Wednesday. 

The news is the latest effort in the administration's goal to increase protections for passengers whose plans are affected by scheduling setbacks. 

"Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them-without headaches or haggling," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The move is also the latest effort by the Transportation Department to "deliver the biggest expansion of passenger rights in the department's history," Buttigieg announced at a press conference on Wednesday. 

The new rule states travelers are allowed a cash refund if their flight is "significantly" delayed by "more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally." 

Travelers will be entitled to refunds for any changes to the number of flight connections on their route or downgrades to a lower class of service. 

Refunds are also issued if a customer's checked baggage is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight's arrival or 15-30 hours of their international flight's arrival, as well as in-flight services such as wi-fi.

The automatic refund to their credit card or used payment method saves fliers from "having to call, wait on hold, sort through digital paperwork, or haggle with that airline," Buttigieg added.

Currently, federal regulations allow airlines to decide how long of a delay warrants a refund, which differs in policy from airline to airline.