DOT FINES SPIRIT AIRLINES $350,000 FOR DENIED BOARDING VIOLATIONS
July 3, 2020
On June 19, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined Spirit Airlines $350,000 for violating federal rules protecting passengers who are denied boarding (“bumped”) on oversold flights, and for not providing accurate reporting of passengers who were denied boarding. DOT found that Spirit improperly required passengers who were involuntarily denied boarding to sign waivers or documents suggesting that those passengers were “volunteers.” In addition, Spirit allegedly offered travel vouchers to such passengers without first informing them they had the option of receiving cash or check, as required by law. In terms of reporting violations, Spirit allegedly failed to file accurate reports of passengers who were denied boarding by misclassifying and misreporting more than 1,000 passengers as “volunteers” when in fact they were passengers who had been denied boarding involuntarily. As a result, several of the Department’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Reports (ATCRs) were published containing information that incorrectly lowered Spirit’s rate of involuntary denied boarding.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
Share This Post
Authors
