June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department

said Monday it has imposed $2.5 million in civil penalties in

total against Lufthansa, Air France unit KLM

Royal Dutch Airways and South African Airways.

The civil penalties, the department said, are for

significant delays in providing more than $900 million in

refunds owed to passengers due to flights disrupted by the

COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $1.1 million penalties imposed on KLM

and Lufthansa, each carrier was credited $550,000 for refunds

for non-refundable tickets on U.S. flights.