AUSSIE AIRLINE QANTAS TO PAY US$79 MLN FOR SELLING TICKETS ON CANCELLED FLIGHTS

SYDNEY, May 6 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Australia's largest domestic and international airline Qantas confirmed on Monday that it would pay 120 million Australian dollars (about US$79.4 million) in fines and compensation for allegedly selling tickets on cancelled flights, reported Xinhua.

This came as part of the agreement the national carrier reached with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to settle a lawsuit about its flight cancellation processes.

Under the settlement, Qantas will kick off the 20 million-Australian-dollar (about US$13.2 million) remediation programme for more than 86,000 impacted passengers, with payments ranging from 225 to 450 Australian dollars (about US$148 to US$297), and also face a penalty of 100 million Australian dollars (about US$66.1 million), subject to the approval of the Federal Court of Australia.

In August 2023, the ACCC launched court action against the airline, arguing that between May 2021 and July 2022, Qantas advertised tickets for more than 8,000 cancelled flights.

Meanwhile, it was also alleged that for more than 10,000 flights due to depart from May to July 2022, Qantas did not promptly notify existing ticket holders that their flights had been cancelled.

The consumer watchdog noted in a statement that Qantas has admitted its deed of misleading consumers by "advertising tickets for tens of thousands of flights it had already decided to cancel, and by cancelling thousands more flights without promptly telling ticket holders of its decision."

According to the statement, Qantas' misconduct continued from May 2021 until August 2023, which affected tens of thousands of flights scheduled to depart between May 2022 and May 2024.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA