Shanxi man fined ten thousand yuan for canceling plane ticket sparks heated debate.

Shanxi Province, Yuncheng City, Xia County – A man recently revealed online that he accidentally refunded a plane ticket and was charged 10,000 yuan (RMB, herein) by the platform, while the actual ticket price was 15,113 yuan. This news made it to the top search results on Baidu on March 31 and sparked discussions.

Mr. Gao from Xia County, Yuncheng City, posted a video seeking help in a WeChat group on March 29.

In the video, Mr. Gao explained that his child is studying in Japan, and on February 27, 2025, he purchased a family ticket for a round trip from Beijing to Tokyo from August 3 to 11 on the Tongcheng Travel Platform, totaling 15,113 yuan. Due to a change in circumstances, he intended to change his ticket but mistakenly selected “refund,” resulting in a hefty deduction. Despite contacting customer service at Tongcheng Travel, they politely shifted responsibility to the airline company, which claimed they had not received the booking or refund information. After much negotiation, Tongcheng Travel only refunded 5,221 yuan.

On March 30, Mr. Gao stated in an interview with a mainland media outlet that on March 26, he decided to change his ticket. He mistakenly selected the “refund” option instead of “change ticket,” costing him 9,892 yuan. Within 5 minutes, he contacted Tongcheng Travel, hoping to restore the order or change it by paying the price difference, but the platform refused. Mr. Gao believed he did not intentionally make the mistake, and with 5 months until the flight, Tongcheng Travel’s refusal to refund due to an error was unreasonable. The nearly 10,000 yuan deduction was hard to accept.

During the media interview, Tongcheng Travel customer service stated, “According to the rules, a handling fee must be deducted. We have reported the situation to the headquarters and are awaiting a response.” The airline company mentioned that they primarily deal with passengers who purchase tickets through the airline’s official website and that non-official website customers should contact their travel agency platform directly.

The disclosure of this incident sparked heated discussions among netizens. Many believe that while it’s reasonable to charge a handling fee for refunds, such a high fee is unjustifiable.

One netizen commented: “Charging such a high fee for a refund is outrageous; the platform should provide a reasonable explanation.” Another netizen said: “Mistakes happen, and with so much time before the flight, the platform should be more flexible and humane in handling this situation.”

Netizen “Wind’s Flavor A1” remarked: “Is it normal to charge such a high fee for a ticket refund? Deducting 2/3 of the ticket price, does this not seem like an unreasonable pricing?”

Others expressed: “We hope that relevant departments will strengthen supervision, standardize the fees for ticket refunds and changes, and safeguard consumer rights.”

Lawyer Cai Wei from the Hubei Honest Law Firm also stated in the media interview that if the ticket refund and change fees are collected by the Tongcheng Travel booking platform, then the nearly 10,000 yuan handling fee is clearly excessive.