Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday Morning programme on 5 June, Shapps called on the aviation sector to implement a scheme similar to the one adopted by the railways.
His comments came after further flight cancellations left some holidaymakers unable to get back to the UK over the weekend. He also repeated a call for airlines to stop overbooking flights.
"We need the industry to deliver. It is very important that flights aren’t oversold, and I want to make sure there is automatic compensation for passengers," Shapps said.
"It can’t be acceptable that it is so complicated sometimes to get a flight rearranged or to get your money back. I want it to be more like Delay Repay works on trains. The train network allows passengers to demand refunds for delayed services simply by producing their tickets.
"When someone has bought a ticket for a flight they have every right to expect that flight to take off and not find that flight is being cancelled. Clearly airlines should be cautious about not overselling these flights."
During a meeting last week, the government and aviation industry formed a working group ahead of the summer holidays to tackle the problems of delays and cancellations caused by staff shortages.
Speaking after the meeting, Shapps said the scenes at UK airports are "heartbreaking", with holidaymakers missing out on their first trips abroad after the pandemic.
"We’re grateful to those airlines and operators who have continued to deliver good services despite the current pressures and we recognise that not all operators have been affected in the same way," he added.
"I also understand the resourcing strains on the aviation sector but it does not excuse poor planning and overbooking flights that they cannot service. The companies who have seen the most disruption need to learn from those who ran services smoothly."
Chief executive of Airlines UK Tim Alderslade said: "We want to work collaboratively with ministers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, in good time for the summer peak, and it was good to discuss options with the transport secretary during what was a productive meeting.
"We ultimately have to work together to solve this. Aviation is a complex eco-system with lots of moving parts and we can’t operate in isolation."
