The airline says travel website Skiplagged may get customers banned, or their tickets canceled, for abandoning the final leg of their trips.

Skiplagging is when travelers book a flight with a connection but get off in the layover city and don’t take the remaining flights in the booked itinerary.

American Airlines is battling it out in court this week over fliers using a controversial travel hack to save money. The practice that has the airline up in arms is known as skiplagging, which involves passengers booking flights that have a layover in their desired destination and simply ditching the trip's second leg.

American Airlines Inc. has accused Skiplagged Inc. of causing $18 million in damages by falsely posing as an authorized agent of the airline.

Kevin D. was sentenced to an effective three-year prison term by the Mechelen correctional court. The Flemish hacker had broken into the systems of American Airlines in 2022. He thus booked 20 free tickets in business class,