INDIANAPOLIS - Believe it or not, the holiday travel season is almost upon us. This year will be the first holiday travel season that will include several new regulations put into law by Congress, designed to protect travelers from unforeseen delays and cancellations. To help get you ready, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group has released a traveler’s guide to the 2024 holiday travel season for anyone planning to hit the airports in the coming weeks. Researchers point out that the first half of the year saw record travel numbers, and that’s expected to continue into the holidays. Through the first six months of 2024, 442 million passengers traveled on the 10 largest airlines, representing a 7% increase from 414 million in 2023.  That means it's more important than ever to get to the airport plenty early. It also means airlines could be cracking down more on size restrictions for carry-on bags. This will be the first holiday season after Congress passed a bill that includes several protections for passengers. As of two weeks ago, no-hassle refunds are the law if a flight is canceled or significantly delayed for any reason. However, researchers point out, you need to watch for notifications from your airline. If the airline cancels or delays a flight, it might notify you that it wants to book you on another flight.  If you don’t respond to that alert and agree to the new booking, it might just issue the refund even if the alternate flight would have better fit your plans. U.S. PIRG notes that flight cancelations are up slightly from last year, but still lower than the previous five years. The group said 77% of flights ran on time in the first half of this year. It’s also worth noting that back in August, Congress passed fee-free family seating. That means a child, age 13 or under, should be able to sit with a parent or accompanying adult with no additional fee if an adjacent seat is available. It’s not clear when that rule takes affect, but several airlines are already doing it. The airline guide has more information about what airlines are doing for delayed passengers, such as meal vouchers and hotel rooms.  You can read the full guide here.