By Rob Wile -
NBC News
The US Department of Transportation has ordered six airlines to pay more than $600 million in refunds to customers whose travel plans were canceled or delayed during what has been a difficult year for US airlines. USA and abroad.
Frontier Airlines tops the list of airlines affected by the Department of Transportation, as the Denver-based company will have to pay $222 million in refunds and an additional $2.2 million fine.
The other airlines involved are TAP Portugal, Air India, Aeroméxico, El Al and Avianca.
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"When a flight is cancelled, passengers requesting refunds should receive them promptly," US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
“As long as that doesn't happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable on behalf of American travelers and give passengers their money back.
A flight cancellation is frustrating enough, and you shouldn't have to haggle or wait months for your refund," he added.
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Under US law, airlines and travel agencies are required to reimburse customers if an airline cancels or significantly changes a US flight and the passenger does not wish to accept the alternative offered.
So far this year, domestic airlines have had the lowest on-time flight rate and highest delay rates since 2014. Domestic airlines have also had the highest cancellation rate in the past decade, excluding the year 2020, when the pandemic first hit.
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Those dismal rates are largely a result of the pandemic and airlines pivoting to respond to travel restrictions and shutdowns.
And when the pandemic subsided, airlines were surprised by the surge in demand from travelers eager to get out of town.
Since then, Buttigieg and federal officials have called on airline executives to bolster hiring and improve schedules to ease traveler concerns.
Travelers wait to pick up their luggage at the Los Angeles International Airport, California, on Friday, July 1, 2022. Jae C. Hong / AP
Performance has improved from the beginning of the year, although airline ticket prices remain at all-time highs due to various factors in addition to reduced schedules, including rising fuel costs and wage pressures.
In an interview with
NBC Nightly News
host Lester Holt, Buttigieg said airlines have made progress improving the customer experience, but they still have work to do.
“They have often increased the pay of drivers, and I think that is going to make a big difference.
So I would say we're in a much better place based on the numbers than we were this summer," Buttigieg said.
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He added that cancellation rates on any given travel weekend have gotten much closer to what they were before the pandemic.
"But I think as we get ready for the Thanksgiving travel season and after the winter break, we're not out of the woods yet," Buttigeig said.
“There is a lot to do to get the system up to speed as it navigates its way through some of the deep disruptions that have taken place during the pandemic.”
"I think we are on the right track, but there are more things to do," he said.
