SYDNEY: Australia’s Qantas Airways stated on Friday (Mar 13) it could pay out A$105 million (US$74 million) to settle a category motion alleging it misled clients and failed to offer ticket refunds for flights cancelled throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The category motion on behalf of Australian passengers associated to worldwide and home flights cancelled by Qantas between 2020 and 2022.
Qantas had offered flight credit as an alternative of money refunds.
“Below the phrases of the settlement settlement, Qantas has agreed to pay A$105 million, with no admission of legal responsibility,” the airline stated.
The deal is topic to courtroom approval and can see the cash to fund money refunds paid to an administrator within the first half of 2027, Qantas stated.
Echo Legislation, which introduced the category motion, alleged Qantas had “unlawfully benefited from clients by holding for years a really important quantity of buyer funds that must have been refunded”.
The courtroom will present particulars of how clients can declare refunds within the coming weeks, the legislation agency stated on Friday.
