Especially in these times of crisis, airline customers have to be patient when it comes to ticket refunds. Because of the numerous inquiries, there may be longer delays. This is also the case with an Austrian couple: The Styrians had booked a flight from Graz to Amsterdam and back for the beginning of April directly with the Dutch KLM. Due to the corona pandemic, the machine never took off.
The Styrians tried for two months to get the 687 euros for the two flight tickets back themselves - with no prospect of success. When their patience finally ran out, they turned to the AK consumer protection agency. "We wrote to KLM immediately, but only received standard answers," said Bettina Schrittwieser, head of the AK consumer protection agency. At the end of July, they finally filed a lawsuit for reimbursement of the flight costs. "After filing the lawsuit, the airline said it would pay. The money arrived in mid-August," said the consumer protection agency. "But they did not pay our court costs. We are now suing for them."
KLM is not the only airline currently facing legal action: "We are preparing lawsuits against Lufthansa, Ryanair, Eurowings, Emirates, and Turkish Airlines, among others," reports Schrittwieser. According to the Styrian Chamber of Labor, they are all alleged to have cancelled flights and are now refusing to refund ticket costs.