Senators push to require airlines to issue cash refunds for flights cancelled during pandemic

Democratic Sens. Edward J. Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris introduced a bill Wednesday that would require major airlines and third-party sellers to issue “full cash refunds” for every cancelled ticket during the coronavirus pandemic.

If the legislation becomes law, it would apply to refunds for flights the airlines cancelled or an individual ticket that the passenger decided to cancel.

“This new right will be retroactive so that anyone who received a travel voucher that goes back to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic will be able to demand a refund now,” Markey, of Massachusetts, said on Wednesday during a conference call. “Unfortunately it is very clear that most airlines won’t do the right thing on their own.”

Warren is also from Massachusetts, and Harris is from California.

Markey argued that the airline industry, which received a bailout in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, should be voluntarily giving customers a full cash refund for any cancelled flights, regardless of the passage of new legislation. Markey estimates, based on data he’s reviewed, that airlines are currently holding on to approximately $10 billion worth of refunds from cancelled flights.

“It’s absolutely unconscionable that the airlines won’t return this money to consumers especially after they received a multibillion dollar bailout from the Congress using American taxpayers’ dollars,” he said. “Returning this money back to consumers would be a significant stimulus for the public during the current emergency.”

Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are also sponsoring the bill.