U.S. fines LATAM Airlines $1 mln over delayed ticket refunds
The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said on Monday it fined LATAM Airlines Group $1 million after the airline and affiliates routinely failed to provide timely refunds to passengers for U.S. flights.
The department said since March 2020, it received more than 750 complaints alleging LATAM, the biggest carrier in Latin America, failed to provide timely refunds after cancelling flights to or from the United States. USDOT said it took LATAM more than 100 days to process thousands of refund requests to payment.
LATAM said in a statement it agreed to the $1 million fine as part of a consent order. It added the fine was “part of an ongoing USDOT audit of numerous airlines that operate into or within the U.S. that have been fined for the same reason, delays in refunds for unused tickets on flights canceled during the pandemic.”
→ LATAM announces new route between Foz do Iguaçu and Lima
LATAM invested $2 million in a new digital platform to process refunds faster and is investing another $2 million this year on refund processing efforts.
Because of COVID-19, LATAM had to cancel more than 1,100 flights daily and saw refund requests quadrupled, the airline told USDOT noting it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and radically downsized the company, resulting in layoffs of thousands of employees.
LATAM issued more than $62 million in refunds since the beginning of the pandemic for canceled flights, the company told USDOT.
In January, USDOT said it planned to seek higher penalties for airlines violating consumer protection rules, saying they were necessary to deter future violations.
Last year, Air Canada agreed to a $4.5 million settlement to resolve a USDOT investigation into claims thousands of air passenger refunds had been delayed. USDOT initially sought a $25.5 million penalty.
In November, USDOT imposed penalties on another six airlines totaling just $7.25 million after they agreed to issue $622 million in passenger refunds.
By David Shepardson – Reuters
Related Topics
Cathay Pacific Inaugurates Direct Flights Between Hong Kong and Munich
Air France-KLM Reaffirms Confidence in Boeing 787 After Air India Crash
Condor Resumes Nonstop Flights Between Frankfurt and Panama City
EU to Susbsidise High Volume of Sustainable Fuel to Boost Its Use in Aviation
Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial con 13 años de trayectoria.