Refunds for cancelled flights an 'unbearable task', says IATA

Refunding passengers for cancelled flights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic would be an “unbearable task” for cash-strapped airlines, the head of an industry group says, as many companies opt to offer vouchers instead. Alexandre de Juniac, the CE of the IATA, said on a weekly conference call Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak has caused the “biggest crisis” ever seen in the airline industry. Many companies are concerned with survival, he said, with just a few weeks worth of cash on hand. “The key element for us is to avoid running out of cash, so refunding the upfront ticket is almost unbearable, financially speaking, in this terrible situation,” de Juniac said. “We are perfectly conscious of the difficulty for the passenger not to be refunded immediately. But the point is that it is a matter of survival for us. We have no cash to refund the upfront ticket.” He also said IATA is open to offering vouchers or deferred refunds that can be delayed for a period of time to avoid using the limited cash resources currently available to airlines. “It’s very difficult to find the cash in our balance sheet to refund the upfront tickets,” de Juniac said. “That’s the reason why the industry has proposed to pay with vouchers.”<br/>