British Airways and Ryanair PLC are no longer being investigated by the UK competition authority for refusing cash refunds to passengers on flights they couldn’t take due to lockdown restrictions.
IAG-owned British Airways offered vouchers or rebooking for affected passengers while Ryanair provided the option to rebook.
After an investigation, the CMA said that the law did not provide passengers with a sufficiently clear right to a refund in these circumstances to justify continuing with the case.
Consumer protection law says passengers are entitled to refunds when an airline cancels a flight but does not cover refunds when a flight goes ahead but passengers are legally prohibited from taking it, said the watchdog.
The CMA added that following its review of the law and evidence, alongside expert advice, it had concluded that prolonging this investigation could not be justified given the length of time it would take to reach an outcome.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, added: “We strongly believe people who are legally prevented from taking flights due to lockdown laws should be offered a full refund and we launched this investigation in the hope that we would be able to secure a positive outcome for consumers.
“Given the importance of this to many passengers who have unfairly lost out, we hope that the law in this area will be clarified.”