Qantas to pay US$74 million to customers for cancelled Covid flights

FILE PHOTO: Travelers wait in line after verifying their Covid-19 vaccination status as they check-in for a flight to Sydney, Australia on Qantas Airways Ltd. inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on November 1, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, as Australia's international border reopened almost 600 days after a pandemic closure began. Australia's Qantas Airways said on March 13, 2026, it would pay out US$74 million to settle a class action alleging it misled customers and failed to provide ticket refunds for flights cancelled during the Covid pandemic. - AFP

SYDNEY: Australia's Qantas Airways said on Friday (March 13) it would pay out AU$105 million (US$74 million) to settle a class action alleging it misled customers and failed to provide ticket refunds for flights cancelled during the Covid pandemic.

The class action on behalf of Australian passengers related to international and domestic flights cancelled by Qantas between 2020 and 2022.

Qantas had provided flight credits instead of cash refunds.

"Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Qantas has agreed to pay AU$105 million, with no admission of liability," the airline said.

The deal is subject to court approval and will see the money to fund cash refunds paid to an administrator in the first half of 2027, Qantas said.

Echo Law, which brought the class action, alleged Qantas had "unlawfully benefited from customers by holding for years a very significant amount of customer funds that ought to have been refunded".

The court will provide details of how customers can claim refunds in coming weeks, the law firm said on Friday. - AFP