Refund through travel agency

Two passengers had booked their flight tickets through an online travel agency, which purchased the tickets from the air carrier. The flight was later cancelled, and the air carrier offered a refund. The amount was refunded to the original payment method, which in this case was the travel agency.

Acceptance from the passengers

The question was whether the air carrier was entitled to pay the refund amount via the travel agency instead of directly to the passengers. Based on an assessment of the process, the Supreme Court found that the passengers had accepted this. One of the passengers had clarified that he understood that the money would flow through the agency. The Supreme Court highlighted that the passenger had accepted the payment to the agency by doing so. Therefore, the air carrier was entitled to refund the agency instead of the passengers.

IUNO's opinion

This case shows that an air carrier can pay a refund to a travel agency instead of directly to a passenger – if the passenger has accepted this. The decision does not mean an airline can always pay a refund through the agency by default.

IUNO recommends that air carriers strive to refund passengers directly when possible due to the terms of travel agencies. These terms do not usually contain provisions where the passenger accepts a refund through the agency. If a refund happens through an agency, it is safest to obtain confirmation from the passenger – even though this can be time-consuming and difficult. For the same reason, IUNO believes that passengers are better off purchasing tickets directly from air carriers.

[Supreme Court judgment of 26 March 2024 in case BS-48424/2023-HJR]