Delta to Refund Taxes Paid During FAA Shutdown

Delta Air Lines announced that it will process tax refunds for customers traveling during the suspension of non-essential services of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), raising questions if other airlines will follow Delta's move.

Funding for the FAA expired on July 23. At that time, Delta reports it stopped collecting several taxes imposed on ticket sales, including a 7.5 percent tax on the base ticket price, a $3.70 segment tax and facilities taxes on international travel and travel to and from Alaska and Hawaii.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has advised that travelers who paid for tickets on or before July 22, 2011, for travel beginning on or after July 23 and prior to the reinstatement of FAA funding, may be entitled to a refund of those taxes.

Delta said it  is awaiting guidelines from the IRS on the process of providing refunds. However, in order to streamline the process, the airline will process refunds directly for customers once an agreement is reached with the IRS on the procedure for doing so.

Information on how to apply for a refund will be posted to www.delta.com.