DOT FINES KLM, LUFTHANSA, AND SAA FOR DELAYED REFUNDS
July 8, 2024
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On June 4, 2024, DOT announced that it will be fining South African Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airways, and Lufthansa a total of $2.5 million dollars as a penalty for extreme delays in providing refunds owed to passengers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The fine comes in addition to the $900 million dollars in refunds that the three (3) airlines have already paid back to passengers. DOT analyzed the number of complaints that each carrier received, the number of refunds that took greater than 100 days to process, as well as whether the carrier had refunded consumers who had purchased non-refundable tickets. South African Airways received the fewest complaints of the three, with over 400. DOT found that “many” of the refunds South African Airways issued took longer than 100 days to process, although DOT did not specify an exact number. Ultimately, South African Airways was issued a $300,000 dollar penalty to be paid in six equal installments with no credit for refunding consumers who had purchased non-refundable tickets. KLM received 948 complaints and took more than 100 days to issue refunds to thousands of consumers. KLM was fined $1.1 million, half of which is to be paid in three installments and the other half credited for providing refunds to consumers with non-refundable tickets. Lastly, Lufthansa received tens of thousands of complaints directly from consumers, with over 2,500 complaints being made directly to DOT. Like South African and KLM, Lufthansa took more than 100 days to issue refunds to thousands of consumers. Lufthansa was fined $1.1 million, half of which was credited for providing refunds to consumers with non-refundable tickets. This announcement of these significant fines comes as part of a greater effort by DOT to ensure passengers are properly refunded for cancelled or significantly changed flights, which has seen nearly $4 billion dollars returned to consumers in the form of refunds and reimbursements.
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