A group of US Senate Democrats called on airlines to release an estimated $10 billion in full cash refunds for flights cancelled by passengers owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Transportation Department regulations require airlines to issue cash refunds for all flights cancelled by the company but allow travel vouchers as an alternative for flights cancelled by customers.
“Unfortunately, these travel vouchers do the public little good in this time of emergency, when Americans need money now to pay for basic necessities such as food, housing, and medical care,” the senators said in a joint statement.
The senators arrived at the $10 billion amount by extrapolating figures provided by JetBlue Airways, which showed that the company issued roughly $20 million in travel credits per day in mid-March.
While all carriers are offering cash refunds when the companies themselves cancel flights, only Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines reported offering refunds to customers that voluntarily cancel their own tickets during the coronavirus crisis. None of the major carriers - American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines or Southwest Airlines - reported doing the same.
Only one carrier - Hawaiian Airlines - is giving cash refunds to customers who cancel tickets on flights that are later cancelled by the airline. At all other carriers, passengers who cancel their tickets for flights that never take off receive only travel vouchers.
Such policies put customers in a “waiting game,” forcing them either to accept a travel voucher or hold onto their tickets and hope the airline eventually cancels so they can get refunded in cash, the senators said.