Following dialogues with the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network authorities, 16 airlines have committed to better information and timely reimbursement for passengers in case of flight cancellations, the EU institution announced on Thursday 30 September.
They are: Aegean Airlines, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, EasyJet, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, TAP, Vueling and WizzAir.
“It is good news for consumers that airlines cooperated during the dialogues” the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said in a statement.
“In the early phase of the pandemic, some airlines pushed vouchers on passengers. They were acting against EU consumer protection rules (and) that was unacceptable”, he added.
These airlines will have to proactively contact consumers who are forced to accept vouchers for cancelled flights (a commitment that WizzAir and Iberia have refused) and inform them now of their right to a refund.
“I welcome the fact that the bulk of the reimbursement backlog has been cleared and that all airlines concerned have committed to solve remaining issues”, said the Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean (see EUROPE 12751/11). The CPC Network will continue to monitor whether the commitments are met.
In a press release, the European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) recalled that together with 11 of its members, it had filed a complaint in July 2020 about systematic violations of air passengers’ rights during the first half of the year.
“These commitments are an important step at putting righting some of the wrongs that consumers have suffered. Many consumers across Europe are still waiting for their money back, for flights cancelled during the first lockdowns in 2020”, commented BEUC Director General Monique Goyens. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)