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Airlines Will Reimburse Holders of Tickets to US

People who had purchased tickets after Jan. 28 would be subject to a fine.
People who had purchased tickets after Jan. 28 would be subject to a fine.

Foreign airlines have agreed to reimburse Iranians who had purchased tickets to the United States on or before Jan. 28.

Following US President Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday to deny the issuance of visa to citizens of Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries, Iranians who had bought tickets to travel to that country have no choice but to cancel their schedules.

It was initially reported Iranians would have to pay a penalty for canceling their ticket; however, after a meeting on Monday at the headquarters of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, the airlines agreed to refund clients in full.

“This is a gesture of goodwill toward Iranians,” Mohammad Hassan Kermani, director of the Association of Air Transport and Tourism Agencies of Iran, told Mehr News Agency after the meeting.

He noted that people who had purchased tickets after Jan. 28 would be subject to a fine.

“Since the executive order was issued fairly recently, I doubt anyone had time to cancel their ticket and/or pay a fine. But if they did, they have to be refunded,” Kermani added.

The abrupt travel ban— aimed at citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen—has caused confusion and led to protests in US cities and airports, where many have found themselves stranded.

The Trump administration has not provided details about the executive order, making its implementation challenging.

Affected travelers had varying experiences at different airports, according to nearly 200 accounts gathered by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Many holding visas told the association they were allowed into the country without a problem despite Trump’s executive order banning them.

But some lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders) were turned away despite guidance to airlines from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that they should be allowed to travel.

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