Paid and Accounted: TAP announces that it has already paid all refunds to US customers.

TAP claims that refunds have already been made to customers in the United States following a one million euro fine imposed by the US federal authorities for canceled or significantly delayed travel since the start of the pandemic.

This is a fine imposed by the US Department of Transportation (DoT) on several airlines for delaying refunds too long, violating consumer protection rules.

According to information released by the US authorities, Tap Air Portugal was ordered to pay a one million euro fine in connection with the return of more than 122 million euros in funds.

“While our mostly manual claims process was up to the task before the pandemic, a 90% reduction in our workforce combined with an avalanche of claims due to Covid-19 meant we were unable to keep up with the huge and unprecedented claims that often complicated by booking and multiple payment processors,” begins with an explanation of the official TAP source in Lusa’s written response.

The airline also explains that it hired additional staff as soon as it had the financial opportunity and invested in “implementing automated solutions to facilitate refunds that are now all paid and accounted for.”

“We take DoT rules very seriously and are fully committed to complying with them. We have made efforts in good faith to process customer refunds as quickly as possible under the extremely difficult circumstances caused by covid-19,” TAP stressed.