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Air Canada pays US$4.5 million in US due to delayed refunds

TORONTO – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) will settle with Air Canada $4.5 million after it filed a lawsuit against the airline over its money-making process. Refunds for flights to and from the United States that have been canceled. or adjusted early in the pandemic.

The payment is the highest amount OACP has received from an airline, according to a press release from the US Department of Transportation.

Part of the settlement is a $2 million fine that must be paid directly to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The complaint against Air Canada was first filed in June, and the OACP initially asked for a $25 million fine. At the time of filing the lawsuit, the OACP said it had received more than 6,000 complaints against Air Canada since March 2020 from consumers who briefly changed flights and were denied refunds.

At the start of the pandemic, as travel restrictions changed in different countries, airlines across the globe abruptly canceled or changed flights in an attempt to comply with the restrictions or try to cope with the pandemic. low ticket sales.

U.S. law requires airlines to request refunds if they make substantial flight changes, and that refunds must be made within seven days of the request if the customer is paying by credit and 20 days if they pay in cash.

In total, the OACP states that Air Canada has committed at least 5,100 violations, and that passengers must wait “anywhere from 5 months to 13 months to receive a refund”.

The original filing action also said that Air Canada did not make a good effort to process refunds when the OACP announced that it was giving airlines more time to process the large number of refund requests.

Air Canada initially announced it would fight the proceedings in June, saying the agency had failed to conduct a “good cause analysis” of the regulations.

In a statement announcing the settlement, the OACP said $2.5 million will be refunded to passengers who purchased non-refundable tickets for flights to or from the United States.

“Airlines and other ticket sellers are legally obligated to refund consumers if the airline cancels or significantly alters a consumer’s flight,” the statement said.

“OACP believes this agreement is in the public interest and it serves to prevent Air Canada and other carriers from committing similar acts in the future.”

With files from the Canadian Press

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