The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) on Wednesday 22 July once again denounced the unfair practices of the major airlines observed in recent months and called for an investigation into these practices, which have been "widespread in the sector" since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citing "thousands of complaints from upset airline passengers", the organisation criticises airlines for regularly failing to both reimburse passengers and provide them with clear and complete information on their rights (see EUROPE 12519/22).
According to BEUC, the most criticised practices are threefold: - forcing consumers to accept vouchers instead of monetary refunds for cancelled flights; - not informing consumers of their rights to a refund; - provide misleading information to consumers about their rights.
The organisation, which recognises that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the transportation and travel industry, nevertheless considers these practices "not acceptable". It highlights that these practices constitute a violation of EU law on air passenger rights and unfair commercial practices.
"Whilst there have been unfair practices across the industry, Aegean, Air France, EasyJet, KLM, Norwegian, Ryanair, TAP Portugal, Transavia are amongst the highest-ranking airlines in terms of the number of consumer complaints made to our members during the crisis", BEUC said.
They call on national authorities to investigate these practices and to oblige airlines to comply with European legislation, as repeatedly requested by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12486/7). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)