The German Consumer Protection Association demands that the Swiss airline company quickly reimburse tickets for flights canceled due to the virus.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the white cross air carrier had to cancel almost all of its flights and immobilize most of its fleet.
KEYSTONE/photo d’illustration
While Swiss is struggling to reimburse tickets for flights canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the German Consumer Protection Association is now demanding that all payments be made within six weeks. A requirement that echoes the green light from shareholders of the parent company Lufthansa to the group’s rescue plan.
As a result of strong demand, Swiss does not currently reimburse tickets for flights canceled within the usual deadlines, wrote Friday the association Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz (SKS).
The national airline is expected to settle the countless pending refunds, says SKS. Swiss must now orient its policy in this area on that of its parent company Lufthansa in order to resolve this “delay in repayments” within six weeks.
Contacted by the AWP agency, Swiss said for its part to continuously reimburse the tickets for canceled flights, while acknowledging that it could not meet the usual deadlines, as the demand is high. The airline adds that it has so far paid a three-digit amount in millions of francs for this purpose.
Several million a week
Each week, customers are reimbursed up to several million francs, noted Swiss. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the white cross carrier had to cancel almost all of its flights and immobilize most of its fleet.
Swiss has declared that it will comply with the obligation to reimburse tour operators under the Package Travel Law by 30 September at the latest. Direct customers will also be reimbursed as soon as possible.
“Swiss must now take immediate action on delayed and long overdue refunds,” said Sara Stalder, SKS director, quoted in the press release. These will free travel agencies from a bad patch and the funds currently blocked will return to households, thereby fueling consumption and also travel expenses.
The owners of the leading European air transport group gave a very large majority their approval on Thursday to a 9 billion euro rescue plan, which prevents Lufthansa from stopping payments. The operation will see the German state return to the group’s capital by crane.
The outcome of this vote remained uncertain for a long time due to the reservations of the main shareholder of the company, a German billionaire. The latter was reluctant to see the German state acquire at least 20% of Lufthansa under this plan, a first since the complete privatization of the company in 1997.
The coronavirus pandemic led Lufthansa to an almost total cessation of passenger operations and at the height of the crisis, the group lost 1 million euros per hour.
In early May, the Confederation announced emergency aid of 1.275 billion francs for the companies Swiss and Edelweiss.
(ATS / NXP)
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