The US has ordered Tata-group-owned Air India to pay USD 121.5 million as refund and USD 1.4 million as penalty for inordinate delay in providing refunds to passengers, officials said. Have given. ,
Air India is among six airlines that have agreed to pay a total of over USD 600 million in refunds, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday.
Air India’s policy of “refund on request” is contrary to the policy of the Transport Department, which mandates the air carrier to legally refund the ticket in case of cancellation or change in flight, officials said. .
The cases where Air India was asked to pay refunds and agreed to pay fines were before Tata took over the national carrier.
According to an official investigation, Air India took more than 100 days to process more than half of the 1,900 refund complaints filed with the transport department for flights that were canceled or significantly delayed by the carrier. Changed.
Air India could not inform the agency about the time taken to process refunds to passengers who had filed complaints and requested refunds directly from the carrier.
“Despite Air India’s stated refund policy, in practice Air India did not provide timely refunds.
As a result, consumers suffered significant losses from excessive delays in receiving their refunds,” the US Department of Transportation said.
Besides Air India, other airlines that were fined include Frontier, TAP Portugal, Aero Mexico, EI AI and Avianca.
The Transport Department said Air India has been ordered to pay $121.5 million in refunds and $1.4 million in fines to its passengers.
Frontier was ordered to pay $222 million in refunds and $2.2 million in fines.
TAP Portugal to pay USD 126.5 million in refunds and USD 1.1 million in fines; Avianca ($76.8 million refund and $750,000 fine), EI AI ($61.9 million refund and $900,000 fine) and Aero Mexico ($13.6 million refund and $900,00 fine).
In addition to over US$600 million in refunds paid by airlines, the Department of Transportation announced that it is assessing over US$7.25 million in civil penalties against these six airlines for excessive delays in providing refunds. Used to be.
With Monday’s fine, the Department of Aviation Consumer Protection has assessed $8.1 million in civil penalties in 2022, the largest amount issued by that office in a single year, a media release said.
Under US law, airlines and ticket agents have a legal obligation to refund consumers if the airline cancels or significantly alters flights to and from the US, and the passenger does not wish to accept the proposed alternative. Is.
The Department of Transportation said it is illegal for an airline to deny refunds and instead provide vouchers to such consumers.
“When a flight is cancelled, the passengers seeking refund should be paid immediately. Whenever it doesn’t, we will work on behalf of American travelers to hold airlines accountable and get passengers their money back,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Cancelling a flight is frustrating enough, and you shouldn’t have to wait or wait months to get your refund,” he said.
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