He should be made to pay the full $21,143. Why should the airline have to cover the cost for his stupidity?
As for up to 100 people on the aircraft!! Flights have been full, full and full in most cabins recently. We even got an email re: staff travel and the possibilty of offloading. As usual the journos haven't got a clue. Maybe it was a reference to 100 people in the online chatroom?