Senators ask airlines to change terms or refund flight credits

Would-be air travelers hold billions of dollars in credits for future flights, and two US senators want airlines to drop restrictions like expiration dates -- or to refund the customers in cash. Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats, are sending a letter to 10 US airlines Monday asking the carriers "commit to providing a cash refund for all tickets that are canceled during the coronavirus pandemic." "Americans need cash in their pockets to pay for food, housing, and prescriptions during this emergency," Markey of Massachusetts and Blumenthal of Connecticut wrote in the letter. Congress extended more than $50 billion in taxpayer dollars to the airlines over the past year to fund payroll expenses, and some airlines took government loans for other costs. But at the same time, customer complaints about refunds were skyrocketing. Refunds quickly became the most griped about part of air travel during the pandemic, according to the Department of Transportation. Passengers filed more than 107,000 official complaints since March 2020, and 95,000 of those -- 89% -- are about refunds, DOT data show. There is no precise dollar amount of outstanding and recently expired flight credits, but the figure is in the billions. Consumer Reports estimates the figure is between $12b and $15b. Markey and Blumenthal cited a $10b estimate in their letter.<br/>