Qatar Airways has paid out nearly £1 billion in refunds to almost 600,000 passengers since March, the airline has confirmed.
Refunds for passengers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic total US$1.2 billion (about £910m), the Gulf carrier said, as it reported that 96% had been paid.
The airline said all new refunds are being processed in less than 30 days.
Its flexible booking policy also allows passengers to rebook onto another flight within two years and change their destination (within 5,000 miles) or travel dates free of charge, take a future travel voucher worth 110% of the fare, or exchange their ticket for air miles.
The airline said 36% of its passengers selected one of these options over a refund.
Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “With the impact of Covid-19 on global travel, passengers have had to change their plans at short notice and it has been difficult for them to plan ahead with any certainty. What they want and deserve are flexibility and reliability, and in Qatar Airways we hope they find an airline they can trust.
“The amount we have paid out in refunds has undoubtedly had an impact on our bottom line, but it is our duty to do the right thing by our customers and trade partners and as an airline we are strong enough to mitigate the impact of this.”
Qatar Airways said refund requests topped 10,000 per day at the height of the crisis and said it used global distribution system GDS systems to pay refunds to travel agents.
The carrier resumed operations to 80 destinations at the end of June, and has implemented a number of onboard health and safety protocols to combat the spread of Covid-19.