By LeSiteinfo with MAP
The US Department of Transportation (DoT) announced on Monday that German airline Lufthansa has agreed to reimburse passengers for cancellations or significant changes to flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the department said 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 also a penalty of 1.1 million.
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.
The US department announced on April 24 that airlines in the United States were now subject to stricter regulations regarding reimbursement and compensation of passengers in the event of flight cancellation, modification or delay, or even of lost luggage.
Not only must these reimbursements be automatic, but the department has also, among other things, precisely defined what a “significant change” is: modification of 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.
