Legal expert details what travelers are entitled to after massive East Coast flight cancellations

After a severed fiber optic cable disrupted thousands of flights to and from East Coast airports on Monday, customers are entitled to a full refund under U.S. law, but they also have other options, Eric Napoli, the chief legal officer at AirHelp, told Fox News Digital.

“Under U.S. domestic law on flights, the rules are that you’re entitled to a full cash refund,” Napoli explained.

“If you are flying to and from Europe and fall under European rules, if the cause of the delay is directly attributable to the airline, then you could be entitled to up to $700. In this case, this is completely outside of the airline’s control. This is a tower-to-ground issue, so you don’t get any compensation. But what you are entitled to is — if you decide not to take that flight, or whatever flight they give you next — a full cash refund,” Napoli said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Amtrak for the cancellations, claiming that a construction crew cut the cable. However, the company quickly pushed back.

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“This incident occurred on New Jersey Transit property and involved a New Jersey Transit contractor,” Amtrak said in a statement.

NJ Transit acknowledged working on the site where the cable was cut, but claimed “the crew was digging approximately 10 feet away from the utility markings.”

Because the incident was not caused by any of the airlines, customers traveling to and from Europe are not entitled to a $700 cash payment that European law would entitle them to if the airport caused the delays, Napoli said.

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“In this scenario, European law wouldn’t say that the airline has to pay compensation because the network connectivity issue was completely outside of the airline’s control — as it would be, for example, if a hurricane were flying in. If the aircraft had a technical issue and they weren’t able to fix it in time, that’s part of the airline’s business and operating model, so an airline would have to pay up to $700,” he told Fox News Digital.

Customers are entitled to a full cash refund under U.S. law. However, if they take an offer from the airlines to rebook their flights, they lose the option to get a refund, Napoli said.

“Generally what happens is the airline will come to the passenger and say, ‘Either we’ve canceled the flight or we’ve rescheduled the flight for the next day, and we’ve put you on another flight.’ The passenger then has the option to say, ‘Do I want to take the other flight, or do I not want to?’ Maybe now there’s no reason to go see the game in Philadelphia, so you don’t want to be rescheduled. In that case, you get your money back. If you decide to take the flight, then you wouldn’t get your money back because you have consumed a service,” he explained.

He recommended customers take initiative in receiving their refunds rather than waiting for the airlines to reimburse them.

“Generally, if you don’t ask for it, you’re not going to get it, so you have to be pretty proactive. Airlines have gotten really good now with offering rescheduled flights in their apps, because a situation like this is also a headache for them. The airlines have to suddenly find all of these people and rebook them. It’s Tetris — along with the domino effect of delay after delay. The airlines will try to help, but for other things like getting a food voucher, a taxi, or a hotel, the traveler is going to have to be savvy and proactive,” he continued.

“That’s where AirHelp comes in and helps. We have lots of information on our website and a 24/7 chat that keeps you updated. We also have an app that can let you know if your flight is delayed or if incoming flights are on time, so you can look at sources like us. When it comes to things like compensation under European laws, airlines don’t make it easy for you,” Napoli added.

Napoli ultimately counseled travelers to remain savvy and calm.

“Having information beforehand and knowing how to navigate is always best. Be prepared. Things can go wrong, and we get angry and upset. But getting angry at the people at the airport desk doesn’t help the situation — it just makes you angrier. It’s best to keep calm, talk to people civilly, and hopefully, things will work out,” he told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital contacted the Department of Transportation, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit for comment.