Booking.com: flight cancelled or significantly changed

Collect

• booking reference
• airline record locator
• ticket number
• airline cancellation notice

Steps

1. Check the airline's contract of carriage for the cancellation or change rule.

2. Ask Booking.com customer service to process the refund or change, and ask the airline directly if Booking.com cannot.

   OnlineBooking.com Help Center (messaging to customer service after sign-in; 24-hour phone line shown in the booking) Sign-in required

3. If the refund is not paid, file a complaint with the U.S. DOT and dispute the charge with your card issuer.

   RegulatorU.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection +1-800-778-4838

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Policy

  Booking.com says most flights on its platform are provided via a third-party aggregator acting as an intermediary to the airline, and the cancellation policy is in the airline's contract of carriage; there may be a fee to change or cancel.

  Source: booking.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Booking.com's terms require binding individual arbitration administered by National Arbitration & Mediation under New York law, after a mandatory Internal Review Procedure of 60 days; small claims court is allowed.

  Source: booking.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  An arbitration opt-out notice ("Arbitration -- Opt-Out Notice") must be sent through the Dispute Resolution page within 30 days after you first become subject to the agreement, by you personally.

  Source: booking.com, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

• DOT automatic refund rule for airline tickets and ancillary fees (2024)
  14 CFR part 260 and 14 CFR part 262 (89 FR 32760, April 26, 2024; amended 89 FR 65534, August 12, 2024)

  Airlines operating to, from or within the U.S. must give a full cash refund (to the original form of payment) when they cancel or significantly change a flight and the passenger does not accept the alternative. Refunds are due within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days (other payment). Airlines must also refund checked bag fees for significantly delayed bags and fees for paid extras that were not provided. Until July 7, 2027, DOT does not enforce the rule in one narrow case: a flight that is only renumbered, with no significant change or delay.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  6 citable points

  • Policy

    A "cancelled flight" is a covered flight that was published in the carrier's Computer Reservation System at the time of the ticket sale but not operated by the carrier.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    A "significantly delayed or changed flight" is one where, because of the carrier's change, the passenger departs 3 or more hours earlier or arrives 3 or more hours later (domestic itineraries), or 6 or more hours earlier or later (international itineraries); departs from or arrives at a different airport; has more connection points; or is downgraded to a lower class of service. For a passenger with a disability, a change of connecting airport or a substitute aircraft without a needed accessibility feature also counts.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The merchant-of-record carrier must refund the airfare, including taxes and ancillary fees, to a passenger with a nonrefundable ticket whose flight is cancelled or significantly delayed or changed, if the passenger does not fly the changed flight or accept rebooking and does not accept a voucher or other compensation. The refund is automatic when the flight is cancelled and no alternative is offered, when the passenger rejects the alternative, or when the passenger does not respond to the offer before the flight departs.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    A "prompt refund" is made within 7 business days after the earliest date the refund was requested for credit card purchases, and within 20 calendar days for cash, check, debit card or other purchases.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    A carrier may offer a voucher or credit instead of a refund only if the offer states the passenger's right to a full refund, and the voucher stays valid for at least five years from the date it is issued.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    Until July 7, 2027, DOT will not enforce the cancellation refund and notice requirements when a flight is only given a different flight number, the passenger is rebooked on the renumbered flight, and that flight operates without a significant change or delay. If a renumbered flight is significantly changed or delayed, the refund requirements remain fully enforceable.

    Source: federalregister.gov, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   OnlineBooking.com Help Center (messaging to customer service after sign-in; 24-hour phone line shown in the booking) Sign-in required

   Contact the property or airline as well; it decides the refund.

2. Written complaint

   FormDispute resolution center (complaints, pre-dispute Internal Review Procedure, arbitration opt-out)

3. Federal regulator

   RegulatorU.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection +1-800-778-4838

   For air tickets bought through Booking.com.

4. Card or bank dispute

   Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)

   Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)

5. State agency

   Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

6. Arbitration

   FormDispute resolution center (complaints, pre-dispute Internal Review Procedure, arbitration opt-out)

   The Internal Review Procedure (60 days) must come first; small claims court is allowed.

Watch out

Related

• Flight cancelled or significantly changed at other companies
• How Booking.com complaints actually go (dossier, checked 2026-10-12)
• Online travel agencies — how complaints work
• Booking.com: refund request
• Booking.com: reservation not honored