Lufthansa will have to reimburse passengers in the USA a total of $775 million in flight costs. These reimbursements pertain to flights that were canceled or significantly changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced this on Monday and also imposed a fine of $1.1 million on Lufthansa for extreme delays in refunding flight costs.

In addition to Lufthansa, the Dutch airline KLM was fined $1.1 million. KLM must repay $113.3 million in flight costs. South African Airways owes passengers $15.2 million and is to pay a fine of $300,000, as the ministry further announced.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized the importance of fair treatment for passengers: "If a flight is canceled or significantly changed, you shouldn't have to fight with the airline to get your money back - and we are holding airlines accountable when they don't provide the refunds due to passengers."

This measure by the US Department of Transportation underscores the commitment to enforcing passenger rights and the willingness to hold airlines accountable for failures.