Many airlines are refusing to pay back customers after flights have been canceled due to coronavirus. Instead, they are allegedly charging rebooking fees or offering time-bound vouchers instead of full refunds. However, the US Department of Transportation’s enforcement notice on April 3, 2020 made it clear: if the flight is to or from the US, customers must get full refunds for airline-canceled flights.

Our law firm is investigating whether airlines are illegally keeping customers’ money during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite $25 billion bailout, airlines delay refunds or charge fees

On March 31, 2020, several U.S. Senators wrote to airline CEOs urging them to give customers full refunds for flights canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to excerpts in The Hill, the letter says:

“It would be unacceptable to us for your company to hold onto travelers’ payments for canceled flights instead of refunding them, especially in light of the $25 billion bailout that the airline industry just received from Congress…We urge you to offer cash refunds for flight cancellations so that Americans can better weather this crisis.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, United Airlines has reportedly forced some customers to wait a full year to receive refunds on canceled international flights. Delta Airlines has allegedly charged some customers cancellation fees if they ask for a refund instead of a voucher.

Our Consumer Protection Attorneys

Steve Lopez

Steve Lopez represents consumers, employees, and whistleblowers harmed by corporate misconduct. He has prosecuted a variety of consumer protection and complex employment cases.

Dylan Hughes

Dylan Hughes concentrates his practice on investigating and prosecuting fraud matters on behalf of whistleblowers, consumers and employees harmed by corporate misconduct.

Aaron Blumenthal

Aaron Blumenthal represents consumers, employees, and whistleblowers in class action and other complex litigation.

Eileen Epstein Carney

Eileen serves as the Director of Business Development with Gibbs Law Group. She is involved in new case investigation efforts related to whistleblower, securities, consumer protection and other class action lawsuits.

About Us

Gibbs Law Group is a California-based law firm committed to protecting the rights of clients nationwide who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. We represent individuals, whistleblowers, employees, and small businesses across the U.S. against the world’s largest corporations. Our award-winning lawyers have achieved landmark recoveries and over a billion dollars for our clients in high-stakes class action and individual cases involving consumer protection, data breach, digital privacy, and federal and California employment lawsuits. Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40,” “Consumer Protection MVP,” “Best Lawyers in America,” and “Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40.”