A TAP group administrator for operations confirmed that the amount related to the refund had already been paid, but did not provide details on the penalty.
“Refund already paid”Ramiro Seguera said.
According to TAP’s director of operations, “the situation is calculated, so it is something to be expected”, and it is a “difficult moment for the company and aviation in general”.
“TAP is making every effort to restore normalcy both in terms of operations and refunds”he added.
When asked about the fines imposed by the US Department of Transportation, The official confirmed that “this is not a surprise” and that TAP will “comply with court decisions”, but did not say what the amount was or if it had already been paid.
But “the company has already done so and in good faith has led to a reduction of the penalty imposed by the DoT to around 550 thousand euros, including passengers who are not legally entitled to reimbursement”.
Flights that have been canceled or diverted since the pandemic began are at risk. Initially, it was announced that TAP must immediately refund more than $126.5 million to passengers.🇧🇷 That didn’t happen, In addition to the $1.1 million fine, restitution must be paid to all affected customers..
TAP is one of six airlines fined by the US federal government.
The biggest fine has been paid to Frontier: this low-cost airline from the US state of Colorado operates mainly domestic flights and failed to repay more than 214 million euros, for which it will have to pay more than two million euros in fines. .
As quoted by Reuterslast night, The Portuguese carrier said it had struggled with an “avalanche of refund requests”. What has led to call centers becoming “rapidly overloaded”?.
“If a flight is canceled, passengers seeking refunds should be promptly refunded,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, adding that “whenever this does not happen,” the administration should “hold airlines accountable on behalf of North American passengers.”
“A canceled flight is frustrating enough and you shouldn’t have to wait months to get a refund,” Buttigieg added.
Reorganization of winter operation
Starting this Tuesday through the end of the year, TAP will cancel an average of seven flights a day🇧🇷 Company announces winter operations restructuring.
TAP says the canceled connections will be less busy “for which there are many alternatives on the TAP network or partner companies”. It also ensures that affected passengers are informed in time and alternative flights are available..
On December 8 and 9, the company’s employees are scheduled to go on strike Convened by the National Civil Aviation Airmen’s Association.
The union organization opposes “systematic violations” of the enterprise agreement. He also talks about TAP’s lack of respect for the crew.
