Don’t expect an automatic refund from airlines: Here’s why they don’t refund customers even after a flight is canceled.

game have lost billions since the beginning of March as they’ve been forced to cancel flights and largely suspend operations while still incurring the astronomic expenses associated with the operation.

Lufthansa, one of the world’s largest airlines, is reporting losses of around $1 million per hour as it prepares to accept a government bailout and US airlines are no different. United Airlines reported losses of around $100 million per day in March, Forbes reported.

Rapidly declining incoming cash flow combined with dwindling coffers have made airliners more conservative with how they distribute funds, even when consumers are entitled to their money back. Just because a flight is canceled, airlines aren’t jumping to hit the refund button and it will often take a phone call or other customer-initiated procedure to secure the funds.

Here’s why airlines aren’t automatically refunding passengers and what you can do to resolve potential issues.

The US Department of Transportation has said that customers with a canceled flight are entitled to refunds, even with the current situation surrounding the airline industry. The government felt the need to remind airlines of the policy after it received complaints from passengers not getting their money back after a flight cancellation.

Every country is different but if the flight touched a US point, it’s subject to Department of Transportation rules. Foreign airlines with canceled flights to the US may try to claim otherwise but they can be held to account by filing a claim with the federal department.