Alitalia’s refusal to compensate two passengers whose flight was cancelled has ended up costing the carrier US$125,000 and lots of bad publicity.
The two complained to the US Department of Transportation (DOT), which yesterday fined the Italian airline $125,000 for deceiving passengers about their rights to compensation.
The DOT cited Alitalia for falsely claiming that it has the right to refuse to compensate passengers travelling to the US for delayed or cancelled flights. The DOT said the inconsistent statements on the Alitalia website were an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of US law.
Alitalia said it has for some years been paying customers for delayed or cancelled flights in Europe, under European law, but not on travel to the US.
The AP reports that half the fine will be dropped if Alitalia follows the US rules for a year.
By Cheryl Rosen, TravelMole US
