Qantas Group announced on 30 December that it has reached a court-approved settlement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), ending a high-profile case alleging the flag carrier sold tickets on thousands of flights it had already decided to cancel. Under the agreement, Qantas will pay a A$100 million civil penalty—the largest ever imposed on an airline under Australia’s consumer-law regime—and establish a A$20 million remediation fund for more than 86,000 affected passengers. Individual compensation will range from A$225 for domestic and trans-Tasman services to A$450 for long-haul itineraries.
The airline will open a Deloitte-run claims portal next month and has pledged independent audits to verify payments. Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson conceded that Qantas “fell short of our own standards” in the chaotic post-pandemic ramp-up and said the carrier is investing in new notification technology to prevent repeats. The ACCC has dropped related “wrongful acceptance of payment” allegations in exchange for the settlement, but Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stressed that the record penalty “sends a message to every airline operating in Australia.”
![Qantas settles ACCC lawsuit, agrees to A$100 m penalty and A$20 m customer pay-out over flight-cancellation saga]()
For global-mobility and travel-programme managers, the case has practical implications. Companies have begun mapping PNRs from mid-2022 to mid-2023 against the ACCC’s flight list to ensure corporate travellers lodge claims promptly. Travel-management companies expect duty-of-care clauses to be revised to require faster airline disruption alerts, while several multinationals are reviewing GDS settings to reduce bookings on “soft-cancelled” segments.
The settlement also sharpens regulatory scrutiny. Canberra is considering mandating real-time cancellation data feeds from airlines to travel agencies, and consumer advocates want automatic refunds within 14 days—rules that would mirror the EU’s EC261 regime.
In the short term, however, Qantas hopes the payout will help rebuild loyalty ahead of a capacity expansion planned for the first half of 2026, including new A350-1000 ultra-long-haul services.
The airline will open a Deloitte-run claims portal next month and has pledged independent audits to verify payments. Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson conceded that Qantas “fell short of our own standards” in the chaotic post-pandemic ramp-up and said the carrier is investing in new notification technology to prevent repeats. The ACCC has dropped related “wrongful acceptance of payment” allegations in exchange for the settlement, but Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stressed that the record penalty “sends a message to every airline operating in Australia.”
For global-mobility and travel-programme managers, the case has practical implications. Companies have begun mapping PNRs from mid-2022 to mid-2023 against the ACCC’s flight list to ensure corporate travellers lodge claims promptly. Travel-management companies expect duty-of-care clauses to be revised to require faster airline disruption alerts, while several multinationals are reviewing GDS settings to reduce bookings on “soft-cancelled” segments.
The settlement also sharpens regulatory scrutiny. Canberra is considering mandating real-time cancellation data feeds from airlines to travel agencies, and consumer advocates want automatic refunds within 14 days—rules that would mirror the EU’s EC261 regime.
In the short term, however, Qantas hopes the payout will help rebuild loyalty ahead of a capacity expansion planned for the first half of 2026, including new A350-1000 ultra-long-haul services.
Source: Qantas Newsroom
