Delta, United Class Action Says Mexicans Charged Unfair Airline Taxes

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A group a Mexican citizens have lodged a class action lawsuit against major airlines, including Delta and United, alleging the companies charge Mexican passengers a tourism tax to visit their own country, but then keep the money for themselves.

According to the Delta, United, Southwest class action lawsuit, the unfair airline taxes range from $20 to $30 and information about the tax is “buried in the details” on each airline ticket.

The airlines accused of assessing the unfair airline taxes includes Delta Airlines Inc., United Airlines Inc., American Airlines Inc., Aerovias De Mexico S.A. De C.V. Inc., ABC Aerolíneas S.A. De C.V., Aeroenlaces Nacionales S.A. De C.V., Southwest Airlines Co., and JetBlue Airways Corporation.

“Most or all of the defendants continue to use this scheme to unlawfully collect money from unwitting Mexican-citizen passengers for a tax they do not owe, apparently believing a loophole in the laws of the fifty states, purportedly formed through the intersection of the Airline Deregulation Act’s preemption clause…with various state statutes and common laws intended to prevent this very type of unlawful behavior, protect them from any consequences,” alleges the Southwest class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs contend that assessing a tourism fee on Mexican citizens, as well as passengers under the age of two, was never the intent of the Mexican tourism tax law in the first place – a law that the airlines self-imposed.

However, alleges the United Airlines class action lawsuit, the airlines have actively concealed information about the unfair airline taxes from Mexican citizens.

The American Airlines class action lawsuit claims that after implementing the Mexican tourism tax, the various airlines failed to implement a system for identifying passengers exempt from the tax.

“Since 1999, these defendants have collected this Tax from every passenger who flew on their airline into Mexico, including Exempt Travelers, and simply kept the revenue collected from Exempt Travelers,” the United, Southwest, American Airlines class action states.

The airlines proceeded to assess the unfair airline taxes against Mexican citizens and have no way to refund the tax to exempt passengers, according to the JetBlue Airways class action lawsuit.

The airlines have found a way to remit the proper amount of money to the Mexican government for the Mexican tourism tax they assess, points out the Delta class action.

According to the class action lawsuit, the airlines then go on to pocket the difference.

“Starkly put, for many years the defendant airlines have stolen money from Mexican citizens and others under the guise of a Mexican government-required tax, and then kept that money for themselves,” alleges the Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs further claim that the defendant airlines have conspired to keep their unfair airline tax profit generating scheme going by working together to conceal it from passengers.

According to the United Airlines class action lawsuit, the conspiracy is evident because, if only one airline participated, they would be turned in by their competitors.

Additionally, if only one defendant assessed unfair airline taxes, consumers would turn to a different airline that does not assess the fee.

Under the Mexican tourism tax scheme, consumers have no choice, alleges the class action lawsuit.

The unfair airline taxes class action lawsuit seeks to represent Mexican citizens who purchased a ticket from any of the defendant airlines and paid a tourism tax.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order prohibiting the unfair assessment of the Mexican tourism tax.

The airline passengers are represented by Tejinder Singh and Eric F. Citron of Goldstein & Russell PC, Matthew J.M. Prebeg, Christopher Faucett, Stephen W. Abbott, and Brent T. Caldwell of Prebeg Faucett & Abbott PLLC, Austin Tighe and Michael Angelovich of Nix Patterson LLP, and John D. Sheppard and Nicholas A. Morrow of Morrow & Sheppard LLP.

The Delta, United, Southwest Unfair Airline Taxes Class Action Lawsuit is Noel Moran Rojas, et al. v. Delta Airlines Inc., et al., Case No. 8:19-cv-00665-GJH, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.