Hahn Air to pay $26.8mn to settle US travel fees case

Hahn Air (HR, Frankfurt International) and subsidiary Hahn Air USA Inc. in Minneapolis have agreed to pay USD26.8 million to resolve allegations of having contravened the US False Claims Act when they allegedly knowingly neglected to remit certain travel fees collected from passengers flying into or within the United States between 2012 and 2018, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

Hahn Air operates an electronic ticketing database that enables travel agencies to issue tickets based on agreements with multiple commercial airlines worldwide. As part of its operations, it collects mandatory travel fees – including certain passenger fees owed to the United States.

Among the contested fees are animal and plant health inspection and quarantine fees owed to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), customs user fees and immigration user fees owed to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and passenger civil aviation security service fees owed to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The settlement resolves a civil lawsuit at the US District Court for the District of Columbia filed under the “qui tam” or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the US for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. As part of the resolution, the whistleblower will receive USD4.8 million.

Of the USD26.8 million Hahn Air will pay, USD18.3 is federal restitution. The company will be credited USD16 million towards the settlement for previous remittance payments, leaving a remaining balance of USD10.7 million. The whistleblower will be paid as soon as the funds have been received from Hahn Air.

ch-aviation has reached out to Hahn Air for comment.