US orders Air India to pay USD 121.5 million as passenger refunds and USD 1.4 million as fines
Washington (PTI): The US has ordered Tata-group owned Air India to pay a whopping USD 121.5 million as refunds and USD 1.4 million as penalties for extreme delays in providing refunds to passengers due to the cancellation or change in flights, mostly during the pandemic, officials said.
Air India is among the six airlines that have agreed to cough up a total of over USD 600 million as refunds, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday.
Air India's policy of "refund on request" is contrary to the Department of Transportation policy, which mandates air carriers to legally refund tickets in the case of cancellation or change in flight, officials said.
The cases in which Air India was asked to pay the refund and agreed to pay the penalty were before the national carrier was acquired by the Tatas.
According to an official investigation, Air India took more than 100 days to process more than half of the 1,900 refund complaints filed with the Department of Transportation for flights that the carrier cancelled or significantly changed.
Air India could not provide the agency with information regarding the time it took to process refunds to passengers who filed complaints and requested refunds directly with the carrier.
"Irrespective of Air India's stated refund policy, in practice Air India did not provide timely refunds. As a result, consumers experienced significant harm from the extreme delay in receiving their refunds," the US Department of Transportation said.
In addition to Air India, the other airlines that were slapped fines include Frontier, TAP Portugal, Aero Mexico, EI AI, and Avianca.
The Department of Transportation said Air India was ordered to pay USD 121.5 million in refunds to its passengers and pay USD 1.4 million as fine.
Frontier was ordered to pay USD 222 million in refunds and USD 2.2 million in penalty. TAP Portugal will pay USD 126.5 million as refund and USD1.1 million in penalty; Avianca (USD 76.8 million in refund and USD 750,000 in penalty), EI AI (USD 61.9 million in refund and USD900,000 as penalty) and Aero Mexico (USD13.6 million in refund and USD 900,00 as penalty).
In addition to the more than USD 600 million as refunds that airlines have paid, the Department of Transportation announced that it is assessing more than USD 7.25 million in civil penalties against these six airlines for extreme delays in providing refunds.
With Monday's fines, the Department's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection has assessed USD8.1 million in civil penalties in 2022, the largest amount ever issued in a single year by that office, a media release said.
Under the US law, airlines and ticket agents have a legal obligation to refund consumers if the airline cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from and within the US, and the passenger does not wish to accept the alternative offered.
It is unlawful for an airline to refuse refunds and instead provide vouchers to such consumers, the Department of Transportation said.
"When a flight gets cancelled, passengers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly. Whenever that doesn't happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable on behalf of American travellers and get passengers their money back," said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
"A flight cancellation is frustrating enough, and you shouldn't also have to haggle or wait months to get your refund," he added.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
