Following criticism from customers, Virgin Australia has officially extended the expiry date for travel credits from flights booked during COVID-19 travel bans.
The airline originally said travel vouchers issued by Virgin Australia between April 21, 2020 and July 31, 2022 would expire on June 30 of this year and told customers they would also need to fly by this deadline.
The airline’s new announcement is that customers can now use their vouchers for flights up to “late May 2027,” however the credit will still need to be spent by June 30.
The airline reported about $93 million in unclaimed COVID-19 flight credits in a late-February financial update.
Virgina Airline CEO Dave Emerson said more than $1 billion worth of the credits had already been redeemed.
“Around 90 per cent of all COVID credits have already been redeemed,” Emerson said. “For customers who still hold a remaining balance, this extension provides additional flexibility to plan and take future travel.”
The change to the credit deadlines comes as Senator Bridget McKenzie called on the airline to extend the expiry date or offer customers refunds.
“COVID travel credits are not loyalty points, they are customer money,” Senator McKenzie said.
“Returning this $93 million to Virgin’s bottom line would be, frankly, unacceptable… It’s Australian consumers’ money.”
Source: ABC News
