Which? urgently calls for clarity as Transport Bill is dropped from current parliamentary session
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:
"For too long travellers have suffered terrible treatment from airlines, with operators routinely ignoring their legal obligations on refunds during the pandemic and often neglecting their duty to look after passengers, reroute them or pay compensation during the chaos at UK airports earlier this year.
"Without more effective enforcement of the regulation, some airlines will only be emboldened to disregard the law and passenger rights. Which? has led the campaign for reform of a system where the CAA has no meaningful powers to crack down on airlines that flout the law and the Transport Bill could have provided an opportunity to right this wrong and finally give passengers a regulator they can rely on to stand up for them.
"The government must follow through on its proposals to give the CAA enhanced powers, and urgently needs to offer clarity on when and how this will be achieved."
-ENDS-
Notes to editors: Hundreds of travellers have been in touch with Which? to share their stories of travel disruption this year. Which? is currently campaigning to , 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. 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.