Australia’s national airline, Qantas Airways, has agreed to pay 105 million Australian dollars in compensation following claims that it failed to properly refund passengers for flights cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The settlement comes after a class action lawsuit filed by passengers whose flights were cancelled between 2020 and 2022. Instead of receiving refunds, many customers were issued travel credit vouchers.

The compensation amount is nearly double the sum Qantas had previously indicated it would pay, according to financial results published in February.

The airline confirmed on Friday that it agreed to the payment “without admission of liability.”

The agreement still requires court approval. According to the law firm Echo Law, which is leading the class action, details on how affected customers can claim refunds will be announced soon.

Echo Law argued that Qantas breached its contracts with customers by failing to provide refunds for cancelled flights within a reasonable timeframe. Instead, the airline issued travel vouchers to passengers whose flights had been cancelled during the pandemic.

The law firm further claimed that Qantas engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct” regarding customers’ rights to refunds for cancelled flights, in breach of Australian law.

According to Echo Law, the airline “unlawfully benefited from customers by holding onto a significant amount of money that should have been returned to passengers for several years.”

Qantas, however, stated that in 2023 it removed the expiry dates from travel vouchers issued during the pandemic. This allowed customers to request refunds immediately.

In its interim report to investors, the airline had previously estimated that the settlement would cost around 55 million Australian dollars.

Echo Law is also leading a similar class action lawsuit against Jetstar, the Australian low-cost airline owned by Qantas. The case alleges that Jetstar issued travel vouchers worth less than the refunds customers were entitled to receive.

“With this conduct, Jetstar has enjoyed significant financial benefits at the expense of its customers,” Echo Law stated.

The Qantas group has also faced legal consequences related to its actions during the pandemic. In August 2025, the airline was ordered to pay a record 90 million Australian dollars in penalties for the unlawful dismissal of more than 1,800 ground handling employees.

At the time, Qantas accepted the ruling and acknowledged that the decision made the company accountable for actions that caused “real harm” to its employees.

Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the airline apologized to the affected workers.

“We apologize to each of the 1,820 ground service employees and their families who suffered as a result,” she said.

Source: newmoney.gr