Educational tool · verified October 3, 2026

Significant Flight Change Checker

Organize the differences between an original and airline-changed itinerary and see whether your answers may match selected U.S. DOT significant-change categories.

Read first: This is educational information for flights to, from, or within the United States. It does not make a legal determination, promise a refund, or decide what rebooking an airline must provide. DOT refund criteria and an airline’s own rebooking policy are separate. Airline or ticket-agent decisions depend on the complete booking.

1. Confirm the U.S. scope

This educational check addresses flights to, from, or within the United States. Compare the original and revised whole itinerary; times should use the same airport-local basis for each endpoint.

Does the itinerary include U.S. air transportation?

YesNoNot sure

Itinerary type

2. Enter the direction of any time change

Enter only an earlier departure or later arrival. A later departure by itself and an earlier arrival by itself are not the listed time criteria. Use the original origin departure and final destination arrival, including date changes.

How much earlier is the departure?

HoursMinutes

How much later is the final arrival?

HoursMinutes

3. Compare airports, connections, cabin, and accessibility

Origin or final destination airport changedThe itinerary now has more connectionsThe traveler was involuntarily moved to a lower class of serviceFor a traveler with a disability, a connecting airport changedFor a traveler with a disability, the substitute aircraft lacks a needed accessibility featureOnly the flight number changed, with no other difference foundA current, narrow DOT enforcement pause may matter; see the research note.

Primary source: U.S. DOT Refunds guidance, checked October 3, 2026. The tool covers the listed time, airport, connection, cabin, and disability-accessibility categories; it does not assess every regulatory or contractual scenario. Send factual corrections through the contact page.