Holiday Firms Urge PM To Allow Watchdog To Fine Airlines

Holiday companies have urged the prime minister to give the aviation watchdog extra powers to directly fine airlines for service failures.

In a joint letter along with consumer organisation Which?, they called for stronger enforcement action if airlines fail to uphold consumer rights around refunds and cancellations.

They claim thousands of passengers have been subjected to "unfair treatment".

The industry body for airlines said aviation was already highly regulated.

Many holiday providers cancelled flights and package deals this summer due to issues such as air traffic control restrictions and wildfires on Rhodes and other Greek islands, leaving British tourists in limbo.

If a service is disrupted, airlines are supposed to re-route passengers, even on a rival airline or offer food, accommodation and in some cases refunds if a flight is cancelled.

The Department for Transport recently recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) be given stronger enforcement powers, including the power to fine airlines that fail in their duties.

But the letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claims that too many people are being let down and urges him to lay out a clear timetable for when that might happen.

The CAA regulates airlines in the UK, but it currently has no power to directly fine them.

Instead, it can to apply to the courts for an enforcement order to force the airline to comply with laws around delays and redress. If an airline refuses, the court process can potentially end in an airline paying a fine.

Companies including loveholidays, On the Beach, Riviera Travel and Thomas Cook called on Mr Sunak to use the King's Speech in November to introduce a Bill which would boost the CAA's powers.

"As a coalition of consumer advocates and travel companies, we urge you to show your support for British holidaymakers affected by this summer's air travel disruption by agreeing to strengthen the CAA's enforcement powers", the letter said.

"This summer has seen the all too familiar sight of holidaymakers' plans ruined by air travel disruption; this time through UK and European strike action, thousands of summer flight cancellations, and the terrible environmental impact of wildfires."

Sandra Richardson and her partner Rick were due to spend a week's holiday in New York to celebrate their 21st anniversary in May, but their flight with British Airways was cancelled with just 14 hours' notice.

Even though they had paid extra for premium economy for a bit more legroom, when they finally did get a replacement flight they had been downgraded.

Ms Richardson said she had no success getting a refund via normal channels.

"You can't talk to anyone at BA," she told the BBC. "Customer service doesn't accept any telephone calls so it is all online, then your application just sits in a loop.

"It is very stressful and frustrating."

She ended up having to email BA's chief executive directly to ask for her money back, which finally arrived last week.

On whether airlines should be penalised for service failures, Ms Richardson reckons there is no point - they'll just claw back the money in other ways such as increasing fares.

A BA spokesperson said they were sorry for the disruption that the couple faced and that their teams had previously been in touch to resolve the matter.

Airlines must offer the choice of a refund or alternative flight, regardless of how far in advance the cancellation was made.

Return tickets must be fully refunded if either leg is cancelled.

And passengers have a right to be booked on another airline - or other suitable mode of transport - if it is going to their destination significantly sooner.

While it acknowledged that some of these issues were outside of airlines' control, the group added: "They are routinely failing what's in their control: to uphold their customers' legal rights to rerouting and refunds, and provide clear and timely passenger information."

Signatories on the letter also included organisations such as the Advantage Travel Partnership and the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

They called on the prime minister to "take immediate and definitive action" on behalf of holidaymakers.

The government declined to comment further on the Department for Transport's recommendations following the letter to the prime minister.

In other countries, such as the United States, airlines have been hit with fines worth millions of dollars for failing to pay refunds for cancelled flights during the Covid pandemic.

The CAA's joint-interim chief executive Paul Smith said the watchdog had "long called for a stronger enforcement toolkit to bring us in line with other UK regulators".

"The plans recently announced by the government would achieve this and help ensure that the UK Civil Aviation Authority is better equipped to hold the industry to account in meeting their obligations to passengers," he added.

But the organisation representing the aviation industry, Airlines UK, said the sector was "already a highly regulated and competitive sector, with airlines working hard to deliver for their customers".

The industry body pointed out that the latest CAA consumer survey showed passenger satisfaction rates of 80%, which it said compared well with other types of transport.

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