Airlines will have to fully reimburse the airfare to passengers whose flights were canceled during the COVID-19 outbreak, ordered the United States Department of Transportation on Friday.
The agency increasingly receives complaints from people who say airlines have refused to pay refunds after their flights were canceled, it said in a statement and an execution notice.
“The airlines’ obligation to provide refunds, including the ticket price and any optional fees charged for services that a passenger cannot use, does not cease when flight interruptions are beyond the control of the carrier.”said the agency.
The policy also applies when an airline “makes a significant change to the schedule and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the airline,” DOT said.
The order threatens to add further financial strain to an industry facing severe challenges due to a dramatic drop in demand, even as it prepares to begin receiving $ 50 billion in loan payments and payroll assistance contained in a government bailout package. .
As of Thursday, passenger traffic had dropped about 95% compared to the previous year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Only 124,021 went through security that day, compared to 2.4 million on the equivalent weekday in 2019.
In response, airlines canceled thousands of flights a day and the cuts are expected to continue for weeks or more.
Instead of returning the money to passengers, the airlines told them they would only give them coupons or credits for future travel, the department said in the statement.
The rules requiring refunds have been in place for decades, according to DOT. They have been applied after previous disruptions to the aviation system, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the agency said.
Initially, the government is giving airlines the opportunity to comply with the law on their own, DOT said. “However, the Office of Aviation Control will monitor airline reimbursement policies and practices and take compliance measures as necessary,” he said.
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