Which? responds as the CAA reveals more than a third of flights were delayed in 2022

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:

“These dreadful performance figures will be unsurprising to anyone who endured the widespread chaos at UK airports last year. Which? has received hundreds of testimonies from travellers left high and dry by airlines when their flights were cancelled or delayed, from people abandoned in airports to seek emergency accommodation and alternative flights home, to those still chasing compensation months later.

“Airlines' unacceptable treatment of passengers cannot be allowed to stand. We are calling on the Transport Secretary to act without delay and give the Civil Aviation Authority the powers it needs to fine airlines when they break the law and fail in their responsibility to passengers.

“The government should also drop its proposals to drastically cut the compensation passengers are owed by airlines when domestic flights are delayed or cancelled, which would effectively act as a reward for their failures last year and potentially lead to even worse standards of service to passengers. It should also introduce a mandatory dispute resolution system, so travellers are no longer forced to pursue claims through the small claims court at their own expense.”

-ENDS-

Which?’s Transform Travel Campaign

Which? is currently campaigning to Transfom Travel, and at the time of writing, over 43,000 people have signed the consumer champion’s petition to the Secretary of State for Transport demanding urgent action and over 1,100 campaign supporters have submitted evidence to the ongoing review of the CAA. Please find a link to view the petition here.

You can find Which?’s submission to the Department for Transport’s call for evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the CAA here.

The consumer champion is calling for:

Enforcement – The CAA should be doing more by holding airlines to account proactively. It also needs direct powers to monitor and fine airlines when they flout the rules

Resolution – We need a dispute resolution system that is mandatory for all airlines flying to and from the UK so travellers don’t have to go to the small claims court to enforce their rights

Compensation – We need to protect passengers’ rights to redress when airlines are at fault for delays and cancellations. Proposals to slash pay-outs for domestic flights must be dropped.