The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) introduced it charged British Airways a $1.1 million tremendous for failing to supply well timed refunds for passengers on flights to and from the United States in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic on June 1.
According to Reuters, the DOT acquired over 1,200 complaints towards British Airways for failing to refund passengers in a well timed method, which the airline denies.
The division promised to credit score the airline $550,000 towards the penalty as a result of in 2020 and 2021 it issued greater than $40 million in refunds to prospects with nonrefundable tickets, although maintains {that a} lack of customer support cellphone traces meant that folks had been unable to request refunds for months.
DOT fined LATAM Airlines Group $1 million over the identical challenge in May 2023. These larger fines come because the division seeks to curb shopper safety rule violations.
The division acts upon its Air Travel Consumer Reports, which have famous a marked improve in shopper complaints following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, it acquired a record-high 102,560 complaints.
The 2022 report states, “During the past two years, the Department has issued historic enforcement actions against eight airlines, which were fined nearly $12 million ($11.925 million) and collectively paid more than a billion dollars to people who were owed a refund due to canceled or significantly changed flights. The fines issued last year for consumer protection violations were the largest in the history of OACP and are part of DOT’s ongoing work to ensure Americans are treated fairly.”
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Source: www.travelpulse.com”