DOT Drops Bombshell Fines on Airlines, $600 Million in Refunds Issued
(UnitedVoice.com) – There is, perhaps, no greater traveling frustration than learning an airline has canceled your flight at the last moment. Yet, that happens all across America regularly. During the pandemic, it happened even more frequently, leaving customers annoyed and angry. The federal government is now forcing several airlines to compensate customers.
On November 14, the US Department of Transportation announced six airlines will pay a combined amount exceeding $600 million in refunds to passengers who experienced delayed or canceled flights during the pandemic. According to a press release, the agency claimed it received “a flood of complaints” from travelers upset that airlines were not providing them with “timely refunds.”
Our message to the traveling public is DOT has your back. Thanks to DOT efforts more than $600 million in refunds returned to airline passengers who were owed a refund due to a flight cancelation or significant change. https://t.co/Sfa0Emyd2n
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) November 14, 2022
In addition to the refunds, the government is issuing over $7.25 million in civil penalties against the airlines in question. The fines break down as follows:
- El Al: $900,000 penalty, $61.9 million in refunds
- Frontier: $2.2 million penalty, $222 million in refunds
- Avianca: $750,000 penalty, $76.8 million in refunds
- Aeromexico: $900,000 penalty, $13.6 million in refunds
- Air India: $1.4 million penalty, $121.5 million in refunds
- TAP Portugal: $1.1 million penalty, $126.5 million refunds
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made it clear that passengers should receive refunds quickly when an airline cancels a flight. If an airline refuses to do that, he said the Transportation Department “will act to hold [the companies] accountable.”
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