Malev passengers should seek refund from IATA

TRAVEL AGENTS that issued tickets for the bankrupt Hungarian airline Malev need to send a request to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to get their money back, said the Cyprus travel agents association (ACTA ) yesterday. 

According to guidelines issued by IATA, travel agents who issued tickets for Malev will send requests to IATA which in turn will examine all requests and send the results to Malev. The international association will respond to the travel agents regarding a refund on March 23, 2012. 

In its announcement, ACTA called on those members of the public in possession of Malev tickets to contact their travel agent.  

Last week, ACTA head Victor Mantovanni said passengers holding Malev tickets and stuck abroad need to seek the services of other airlines and keep the receipts, so they can be refunded by the government in Budapest, since the Hungarian government reportedly promised to foot the bill for those who prepaid any tickets.

Hermes Airports’ spokesman Adamos Aspris said last week that Malev’s bankruptcy came as a “blow”, since the airline used to carry out three weekly flights to and from Budapest over the winter, while in the summer, it ran up to eight flights a week.