SKS gives Swiss six weeks to reimburse tickets

news-single-imgcaption" style="width:240px;">Swiss states that it continuously reimburses tickets for canceled flights, while acknowledging that it cannot meet the usual deadlines. (Keystone)

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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 reimbursements” within six weeks.

When contacted, Swiss said that it would reimburse tickets for canceled flights on a continuous basis, while acknowledging that it could not meet the usual deadlines, given the high demand. 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 over the long overdue and delayed reimbursements immediately,” said Sara Stalder, director of SKS, quoted in the statement. These will free travel agencies from a bad patch and the funds currently blocked will return to households, thereby fueling consumption and also spending on travel.

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 to Lufthansa’s almost total cessation of passenger operations and at the height of the crisis, the group lost 1 million euros per hour.

At the beginning of May, the Confederation had announced emergency aid of 1.275 billion francs for the companies Swiss and Edelweiss. (AWP)

>> Read also: Our coronavirus file

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