Hahn Air, along with its subsidiary Hahn Air USA Inc., has agreed to pay $26.8 million to settle allegations that it failed to remit certain travel fees collected from passengers flying into or within the United States from 2012 to 2018, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.
The allegations against Hahn Air involve contraventions of the US False Claims Act, where the company reportedly neglected to forward mandatory travel fees—including animal and plant health inspection and quarantine fees owed to the Department of Agriculture, customs and immigration user fees owed to Customs and Border Protection, and passenger civil aviation security service fees owed to the Transportation Security Administration.
Hahn Air operates an electronic ticketing database used by travel agencies worldwide to issue tickets based on agreements with multiple commercial airlines. As part of its operations, Hahn Air is responsible for collecting these mandatory fees from passengers.
The settlement resolves a civil lawsuit filed under the “qui tam” or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. This provision allows private individuals to sue on behalf of the US government for false claims and to share in any government recovery. As part of the settlement, the whistleblower will receive $4.8 million.
Out of the total settlement amount, $18.3 million is designated as federal restitution. Hahn Air will be credited $16 million for previous payments made towards these fees, leaving a net balance of $10.7 million due. The settlement funds, including the whistleblower’s share, will be disbursed upon receipt of the payment from Hahn Air.
