Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren Introduce Bill to Offer Refunds for Canceled Airline Travel

A new bill introduced in the Senate would mandate airlines offer full cash refunds for canceled tickets instead of future travel credits.

The bill, titled Cash Refunds for Coronavirus Cancellations Act of 2020, was introduced Wednesday by both of Massachusetts senators, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

If passed, the bill would mandate all airlines operating in the United States - including international companies - and third-party ticket sellers offer full cash refunds for all air travel canceled during the coronavirus pandemic. Refunds would be retroactive to any scheduled flight on or after March 1 and remain mandated until 180 days past the date when the nationwide state of emergency order is lifted.

In a call with reporters Wednesday, Markey said they found the airlines could be holding onto over $10 billion dollars in canceled flights that were not refunded.

“10 billion dollars is a lot of money to a lot of families,” Markey told reporters. “We cannot continue to bail out big businesses while only giving out scraps to consumers.”

Airlines offer cash refunds when the company cancels the flight but not when passengers cancel their own flights, which spiked with the spread of the virus this year.

Only two airlines - Allegiant and Spirit - are currently offering cash refunds to passengers who cancel their flights.

Passenger travel worldwide dropped as coronavirus spread from country to country. Nationwide, airlines are canceling between 60 and 80% of their flights.

In New England, travel plummeted in March and has remained drastically low.

At Boston Logan International Airport, just over 10,000 people traveled from the airport during one week in April - a drop of over 90% when compared to 2019 travel for the same seven-day period.

At Bradley International Airport - the second-busiest airport in New England - travel was down by 70% in mid-March compared to the previous years figures, when airlines began suspending routes.

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