Brussels, 27/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Are passengers to become creditors in the bankruptcies of airlines? The European Travel Agents' and Tour Operators' Associations (ECTAA) is beginning to think so. More than six months after the Spanish Spanair and Hungarian Malev airlines went into liquidation, customers have yet to be reimbursed. ECTAA has sounded the alarm to the European Commission, regretting that air passengers are not better protected against the bankruptcy of airlines. The case has been on the table for a long time but no solution has been found. ECTAA is unhappy that the lawmakers have yet to pass legislation in this area. Action is urgently needed as a rash of airline bankruptcies is predicted, given the current economic climate. The head of ECTA says that if European lawmakers do not do something to provide a compulsory system to protect passengers against bankruptcies, passengers will continue to be unsecured creditors in the bankruptcies of airlines with little chance of seeing the cost of their tickets reimbursed. (MD/transl.rt)