Consumers seem to have won the refund vs credit voucher battle with airlines.
After a flood of complaints, the US Department of Transportation has ordered airlines to reimburse customers for canceled flights.
The US DOT hasn’t set a fixed timeline and will ‘exercise its prosecutorial discretion’ to allow airlines time to process refunds.
"The Department is receiving an increasing number of complaints and inquiries from ticketed passengers, including many with non-refundable tickets, who describe having been denied refunds for flights that were cancelled or significantly delayed," the agency said.
International Air Transport Association estimates airlines have taken payment of about $35 billion for flights which were later cancelled.
The Department says credit vouchers have limited validity, and the covid-19 pandemic could still rage for months, reducing options for travelers.
"As a result, passengers are left with cancelled or significantly delayed flights and vouchers and credits for future travel that are not readily usable," the DOT said.
Delta has tried to head off a flood of refund requests by extending flight credit validity to two years.
CNN says the Federal Trade Commission received more than 1,600 complaints regarding flight and vacation bookings disrupted by the coronavirus.
