Consumer group Which? has lashed out at the government for allowing UK airlines to allegedly breach consumer laws for over twenty years.
No airlines have faced fines in the UK over the past 20 years, Which? argued, despite hundreds of thousands of customers taking to courts to battle for refunds on cancelled flights.
Lashing out at the government, Which? urged that UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) be granted powers to impose fines on airlines failing to issue adequate refunds.
British Airways, easyJet PLC and Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) have all faced penalties in other countries over failures to repay customers, while similar cases in the UK go unchecked, Which? pointed out.
“If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a refund or prompt rerouting to your destination,” the group said.
However, some 14,000 passengers complained of being unable to access refunds in just six weeks as the pandemic hit in 2020, resulting in “no enforcement action”.
“We passed this evidence to the CAA, but it only requested a commitment from airlines that they would begin to refund passengers,” the group continued.
“Not only were airlines breaking the rules […] there appeared to be no consequences for doing so.”
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair all denied breaking any laws, with the former apologising for customer service issues during the pandemic.
The CAA agreed that the government should grant it “stronger” enforcement powers meanwhile, adding: “This would allow us to take faster action when appropriate.”
Shares in British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) fell on the news, alongside those in easyJet and Ryanair.