As early as November 2022, the US Department of Transportation took action against six airlines. Because they took too long to issue refunds for canceled or significantly changed flights, Frontier Airlines, Air India, Tap, Aeromexico, El Al and Avianca not only had to make the refunds but also pay fines. Now Germany’s largest airline is also affected.
“Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced enforcement actions against Lufthansa, South African Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airways for extreme delays in paying out more than $900 million in refunds to passengers due to flights that were canceled or significantly modified in response to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the department said on Monday (June 3).
“If a flight is canceled or significantly changed, you shouldn’t have to fight the airline for your money,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “And we hold airlines accountable when they don’t give passengers the refunds they deserve.”
Lufthansa, KLM and South African Airways must now pay a total of $2.5 million in civil penalties due to “extreme delays” in refunding passengers.
Lufthansa has to pay $775 million in required refunds and a $1.1 million penalty. KLM has to pay $113.3 million in refunds and a $1.1 million penalty. South African has to pay $15.2 million in refunds and a $300,000 penalty.
“A majority of the fines imposed will be collected in the form of payments to the U.S. Treasury, with the remainder credited based on payments to passengers in excess of the legal obligation,” the Department of Transportation explains, emphasizing: “The airline ticket refund provisions of the final rule were strengthened by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63), which President Biden signed on May 16, 2024.”
In 2022, the DOT created the Flightrights.gov portal to explain to passengers what they are entitled to when a delay or cancellation is within the control of the airlines, as well as to create standards that the department can enforce. In April 2024, it also entered into a partnership with state attorneys general to speed up the review of consumer complaints.
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The original of this article “The reason goes back years: Lufthansa has to pay passengers back a huge sum” comes from aeroTelegraph.