Travel restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus crisis forced hundreds of airlines to cancel their flights to and from German airports, rendering the tickets of many travellers useless. In this situation, passengers are entitled to a refund, but the unprecedented situation has caused something of a delay. According to the German Travel Association (DRV), passengers in Germany are still owed a total of 4 billion euros.
In Germany, airlines have a legal obligation to their customers and must reimburse them for any cancellations made on their tickets. However, due to the unprecedented number of cancellations, airlines have not yet been able to process all of them – which is why there has been a delay in issuing refunds, said a DRV spokesperson.
These delays not only affect the customers (many of whom now really need the money), but also distributors who are licensed to sell airline tickets. Tourism Commissioner Thomas Bareiß (CDU) recently criticised German airlines for taking so long while in other countries these refunds were “often without problems”.
Carsten Spohr, the boss of German airline Lufthansa, announced recently that the group had begun the slow process of refunding the large number of tickets cancelled. He also apologised to customers for the delay.
The airline has taken steps to speed up this process, and hopes to clear the repayment backlog in the next six to eight weeks.