Qantas To Pay AU$120 Million In Fines And Compensation For Selling Tickets On Cancelled Flights

A federal court judge in Australia has approved Qantas' settlement that requires the airline to pay AU$100 million as penalty for selling tickets to cancelled flights or "ghost flights," and an additional AU$20 million in compensation to affected ticket holders, as part of its agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

With the federal court approving the settlement, the landmark legal action against Qantas for misleading customers has ended, reported The Guardian.

Australia's largest airline had reached an agreement with the ACCC in May to implement a remediation program, agreeing to compensate nearly 86,000 customers who were affected by the airline's misleading conduct.

The compensation was in addition to any previous refunds that had already been offered to these customers.

While domestic customers will be compensated AU$225, those who were affected on international flights will receive AU$450 in compensation.

Apologizing on behalf of Qantas, barrister Ruth Higgins stated: "Qantas is sorry that it engaged in the conduct it has admitted in this proceeding."

Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson described the settlement as "another important step forward" in efforts to restore confidence in the national carrier, News.com reported.

"When flying resumed after the Covid shutdown, we recognize Qantas let down customers and fell short of our own standards," she said. "We know many of our customers were affected by our failure to provide cancellation notifications in a timely manner and we are sincerely sorry."

ACCC initiated legal action against Qantas after the airline was found to have sold tickets on cancelled flights to more than 86,000 customers between May 2021 and August 2023. The company also failed to notify customers about their cancelled flights, with some passengers not being informed for as long as 48 days, according to ACCC.