DOT gets more airlines to pay up, announces $600 million in passenger refunds

Six more airlines have been paid up by the U.S. DOT.

The six airlines were forced to pay more than $600 million in refunds due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, according to the Department. The airlines have to pay millions of dollars in civil penalties for taking too long to give refunds.

Do you want more airline specific news? If you sign up for the newsletter, you will receive it twice a week.

When a flight is canceled, passengers should be paid back quickly, according to the transportation secretary. We will act to get passengers their money back whenever that doesn't happen. If you have a flight cancellation, you should be able to get your money back.

The DOT's aviation consumer protection office has assessed a record amount of penalties this year.

Frontier Airlines is the only US airline on the list. The ultra-low-cost carrier had to pay back $222 million in refunds.

Five other airlines are listed.

• Air India, which must pay $121.5 million in refunds and a $1.4 million penalty.
• TAP Portugal, which must pay $126.5 million in refunds and a $1.1 million penalty.
• Aeromexico, which must pay $13.6 million in refunds and a $900,000 penalty.
• El Al, which must pay $61.9 million in refunds and a $900,000 penalty.
• Avianca, which must pay $76.8 million in refunds and a $750,000 penalty.

Frontier paid $1 million out of pocket and was given a million dollars of goodwill credit for giving refunds.

Frontier Airlines has issued over $92 million in refunds and redeemed credits and vouchers to customers who voluntarily cancelled their non-refundable tickets during the pandemic and were not entitled to a refund under U.S. law. In addition, the company provided over $2.7 million in refunds by voluntarily applying a more generous definition of a significant delay than was in effect at the time for customers who booked and purchased their tickets between March 25 and Oct. 27, 2020. These goodwill refunds of nearly $100 million demonstrate Frontier’s commitment to treating our customers with fairness and flexibility. Under the terms of the Consent Order, Frontier will make a total out-of-pocket payment in the amount of $1 million, having received a $1.2 million goodwill refund credit.

When demand for air travel dried up, airlines delayed refunds or offered vouchers in order to save money. When an airline cancels a flight or dramatically changes its schedule, the law requires a refunds in a timely fashion, though the government has never quantified what constitutes "timely."

You can sign up for our newsletter.

In a call with reporters announcing the penalties, Buttigieg said that the clock would start at the beginning of the epidemic.

Air Canada was fined $2 million for not giving refunds.

Air Canada paid just $2 million out of pocket after the DOT fined them 4.5 million dollars for a long-running refunds saga that played out in public.

The department is still looking for large refunds for consumers.

He said that there could be more news to come by way of fines.

The DOT has been focused on consumer issues. Buttigieg sent a letter to airline leaders with suggestions on how to reduce flight delays. When a delay or cancelation is within the airline's control, the dashboard shows the type of accommodations passengers receive.

"As people get ready to fly this holiday season, we want them to know that the US DOT has their back when it comes to safety, but also when it comes to meeting these important customer service standards," Buttigieg said.