Airlines ordered to refund
Airlines must fully refund airfare to passengers whose flights have been canceled during the outbreak of covid-19, the U.S. Transportation Department ordered on Friday.
It is receiving a growing number of complaints from people who say airlines have refused to pay refunds after flights were canceled, the agency said in a news release and an enforcement notice.
“The obligation of airlines to provide refunds, including the ticket price and any optional fee charged for services a passenger is unable to use, does not cease when the flight disruptions are outside of the carrier’s control,” the agency said.
The directive applies to domestic and foreign airlines for flights to, within, or from the U.S. People are also protected when an airline “makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier,” according to the department.
The U.S. order threatens to add more financial strain to an industry that is facing severe challenges from a dramatic plunge in demand even as it prepares to start receiving $50 billion in loans and payroll assistance payments contained in a government bailout package.
