ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines will have to pay millions as part of a settlement in a lawsuit over canceled flights during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
The Atlanta-based airline will pay $27.3 million plus 7% interest in refunds to those who filed claims, according to the class action lawsuit. The airline will also have to pay attorney fees in the amount of $2.285 million, among other costs.
The agreement, which will apply to canceled flights from March 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, states Delta has agreed to several conditions, including "pay cash settlement payments to certain settlement class members."
The class action lawsuit was originally brought in April 2020 by a passenger claiming Delta had breached its contract with flyers by offering travel credits instead of direct refunds as the pandemic brought about cancellations.
The settlement puts the lawsuit to rest and does not require Delta to admit it was wrong.
"Delta has denied, and continues to deny, each and every allegation of liability, wrongdoing, and damage," a copy of the agreement, which you can read in full at the bottom of this story, states.
But, it adds, Delta chose to settle "to avoid the substantial expense, inconvenience, burden, and disruption of continued litigation."
Delta released the following statement in response to the lawsuit:
Since the beginning of 2020, Delta has refunded more than 11 million bookings totaling $6 billion. When the dark days of the pandemic in 2020 brought significant impact to our business, we held true to our people-first values and provided cash refunds to those eligible when requested after a cancelled flight or significant schedule change.
Read the full settlement below: