CALGARY — WestJet has changed its refund policy to offer refunds for select flights that include a U.S. or UK destination.

The policy does not include flights within Canada or to continental Europe, Mexico or the Caribbean.

If clients chose to voluntarily cancel their booking, they are not eligible for a refund to original form of payment, with some exceptions.

The refunds apply to U.S. and UK flights March 1 – June 30.

Refunds can trigger commission recalls for travel agencies and complicate an already difficult situation as airlines grapple with multimillion dollar losses every day amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and as agents are on the front lines of the travel industry dealing with clients pursuing refunds and credit card chargebacks.

In late March the Canadian Transportation Agency posted a statement indicating that while specific cases may get further analysis, in general, vouchers are appropriate in these extraordinary circumstances. In recent weeks the Federal Court of Appeals posted an interim ruling allowing the CTA’s statement to stand.

With file from The Canadian Press