Southwest class action alleges airline will not refund TSA fees on unused tickets

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Southwest TSA fees class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Aidan Bevacqua filed a class action lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, Co. 
• Why: Bevacqua claims Southwest fails to refund TSA fees to passengers who do not use the tickets they purchase, instead providing them with a travel credit for a future Southwest flight. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court. 

Southwest Airlines fails to deliver on its promise to refund U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fees to passengers who don’t use the travel tickets they purchased, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Aidan Bevacqua claims Southwest “systematically failed to refund the TSA Fees as promised and even refused when passengers specifically so requested.”

Bevacqua argues that, in lieu of issuing a refund for the TSA fees, Southwest instead “improperly converted those TSA Fees into a Travel Credit for the passengers’ possible future use with Southwest.”

It was in Southwest’s standard Contract of Carriage from between May 2012 and March 2022 to refund TSA fees in the event a passenger does not use their ticket, the Southwest class action alleges. 

Southwest allegedly acknowledged it was required to refund TSA fees in event of a flight cancelation or scratched trip 

Bevacqua claims Southwest stated in its Contract of Carriage that it was required to refund the TSA fees by applicable regulations.

“The rationale for this is quite simple. While passengers prepay TSA Fees with their ticket purchase, no TSA security fees are owed if the passenger never travels on the purchased ticket,” states the Southwest class action. 

Bevacqua wants to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who were not refunded their TSA fees but instead were given a travel credit following a reservation with Southwest that involved a US departure that was either canceled or not completed. 

Plaintiff argues Southwest is guilty of breach of contract. He is demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of actual damages for himself and all Class Members. 

In April, Southwest was able to escape claims that it failed to provide the same amount of pandemic-related time off to employees who were on military leave as it did for its non-military employees. 

Have you been denied a refund for a TSA fee after a canceled flight or change of plans? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Stephen T. Blackburn of Blackburn Law PC, and Laura L. Ho, James Kan, Byron Goldstein, and Mengfei Sun of Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho. 

The Southwest TSA fees class action lawsuit is Bevacqua v. Southwest Airlines, Co., Case No. 3:22-cv-01837, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

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