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The U.S. Department of Transportation said it has received thousands of complaints that Air Canada has canceled or changed flights and then it took them five to 13 months to get their money back.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said Tuesday it wants to impose a $ 25.5 million fine on Air Canada for calling for extreme delays in refunding flights to thousands of passengers who canceled or rescheduled flights across the U.S.-Canada border.
The DOT said it has received complaints from more than 6,000 consumers since March 2020 that Air Canada has canceled or changed flights and then it took them five to 13 months to get their money back.
Air Canada did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
The potential fine – which can be countered by Air Canada – is the latest crash in thousands of flights that were canceled by airlines during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. DOT said it is investigating return management at other airlines, including the US.
Federal regulations require airlines to return when passengers so request if the airline cancels a flight schedule or changes significantly. On cross-border flights, airlines must make credit card refunds within seven days, up to 20 days for tickets purchased in cash.
DOT said it spent more time on refunds last year due to an increase in canceled flights if the company made an effort to refund the money. The department said, however, that Air Canada has not made good faith efforts to channel returns more quickly.
The agency said it has reached the size of a civil penalty that includes damages to consumers and as an impediment to delaying refunds in the future.
In many cases, passengers who have canceled reservations at North American airlines have received vouchers instead of receiving money. As a result, airlines are sitting on billions of dollars worth of tickets, some of which will never be used. That didn’t seem to be the case with Air Canada’s returns.
The complaint of the DOT will be in the hands of the court of administrative law.
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