Originally Posted by hillrider

When airlines allowed anyone to avoid a fee based on a doctor's note, guess what, they were slammed with (presumably fake) doctors notes. The policy had to be changed to allow for refunds only upon death (hard to fake) and, for some airlines and only unofficially, hospitalization.

Personally I think that the current fees are predatory and should not be permitted, but the policy is sound. People get what they deserve.