Holiday firms go to war with airlines over summer flight cancellations
An alliance of consumer advocates and travel firms has called on the prime minister to stand up for holidaymakers after thousands of cancelled flights this summer.
In a joint letter with Which?, companies including loveholidays, On The Beach and Thomas Cook, have urged Rishi Sunak to allow airlines to be fined if they fail in their duty around refunds and cancellations.
The letter claims thousands of passengers have received “unfair treatment” this year as cancellations have been rife in the face of air traffic control restrictions and environmental issues such as wildfires.
They should be re-routed, offered support such as food and accommodation or even a refund in these instances, but the letter claims consumers have been let down.
It said: “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.”
The coalition suggested the PM 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”, they added.
Signatories also included organisations such as the Advantage Travel Partnership and the Association of Independent Tour Operators.
The Department for Transport also recently recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates airlines in the UK, be given stronger enforcement powers, including the power to fine airlines.
But the organisation representing the aviation industry, Airlines UK, has previously stated that the sector was “already a highly regulated and competitive sector, with airlines working hard to deliver for their customers”.
A host of flights were cancelled from destinations such as Rhodes due to wildfires this summer.