On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (or DoT) fined Air China $300,000 for tarmac delay violations and fined FlightHub Group the same amount for deceptive advertisements.
As per the tarmac delay rule, international flights generally aren't allowed to stay on the tarmac for more than four hours without allowing their passengers the opportunity to disembark. An investigation found that Air China violated the rule twice in 2019 — once where it kept 179 passengers on the tarmac for five hours, 18 minutes, and one where it kept 279 passengers on the tarmac for five hours, 21 minutes. FlightHub was found to advertise prices that were unavailable and misrepresented the cost of fees, fares, and cancellation charges.
“DOT will hold airlines and ticket agents accountable when they treat consumers unfairly,” said U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg. “These fines should serve as a warning to all airlines and online ticket agents that the Department will take enforcement action against violations of aviation consumer protection rules.”
In addition to receiving fines, both companies have been ordered to cease and desist from committing similar violations in the future.
The $300,000 fine given to FlightHub Group is the highest penalty the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection has charged a ticket agent.
These fines came after the DoT recently announced it would protect customers by cracking down on deceptive airline practices.
