There’s no doubt about it, airline travel can be stressful. Thanks to a new federal law and rules issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, airline passengers could have extra consumer protections, some in time for the holiday travel season.

Hassle-free refunds. In the past, airline passengers were forced to figure out how to obtain a refund by researching an airline’s website or waiting for hours on the phone with an airline’s customer service department. As of October 28, airline passengers will be entitled to an automatic refund for:

• Canceled or significantly changed flights (e.g., arrivals delayed by three or more hours for domestic flights and six or more hours for international flights), regardless of the reason
• Significantly delayed baggage return
• Extra services (e.g., Wi-Fi, seat selection, or inflight entertainment) that were paid for but not provided

Airlines must issue refunds of the full amount of the ticket purchased within seven business days of refunds becoming due for credit card purchases and 20 days for other payment methods. Passengers who accept a ticket for a significantly delayed flight or are rebooked on a different flight to their destination will not receive refunds. The refunds must be in the form of cash or whatever original payment method was used to make the purchase (e.g., credit card or airline miles). Finally, airlines are not allowed to substitute other forms of compensation (e.g., vouchers or travel credits) unless a passenger affirmatively chooses to accept an alternate form of compensation.