Lufthansa will have to open its wallet wide. The US Department of Transportation (DoT) has obtained from three airlines, including that of the German group, that they reimburse nearly a billion dollars to passengers for cancellations or significant changes to flights due to the Covid pandemic -19.
The DoT said Monday that Lufthansa agreed to return $775 million and pay a penalty of $1.1 million, while its Dutch competitor KLM agreed to repay $113.3 million and pay a penalty. penalty of 1.1 million also. In addition, South African Airways agreed to return 15.2 million and pay a penalty of 300,000 dollars.
A particularly low cancellation rate in 2023
“Lufthansa has made all the reimbursements to which we were required. The delay in payment, sanctioned by the DoT, is solely due to the historically unique level of reimbursements during the Covid pandemic,” indicated a spokesperson for the company, stressing that the amount of the fine imposed “does not differ ) not the norm”.
“When a flight is canceled or significantly changed, you should not have to fight with the company to get your money refunded,” noted Pete Buttigieg, the American Minister of Transport. The flight cancellation rate was below 1.2% in 2023 in the United States, the lowest level in more than a decade despite a record number of scheduled flights.
OUR FILE ON COVID-19
The ministry further announced on April 24 that airlines in the United States were now subject to stricter regulations regarding refunds and compensation to passengers in the event of flight cancellation, modification or delay, or more lost luggage. Not only must these reimbursements be automatic, but the ministry has also, among other things, precisely defined what a “significant change” is: a change in the arrival or departure time of more than three hours for a domestic flight and at six hours for an international flight; departure or arrival at a different airport; more stopovers; demotion from the reserved class, etc.