Travel regulators should be given more powers to punish airlines that fail to give their passengers full refunds, MPs say.

Two years on from the industry being plunged into its biggest crisis in decades, the Transport Committee says stronger powers are needed to protect passengers hit by disruption from issues like Covid.

They also singled out Ryanair for criticism over its refunds policy.  

In the report published today, the Government is told it ‘must compensate the industry for the economic loss suffered’ if measures impacting the sector are ever re-imposed.

The Commons committee also called for aviation regulator the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to be handed ‘more teeth’ to slap fines on airlines which do not completely refund customers when required to do so by law.

‘The Government must introduce a mechanism to ensure that when entitled
to a refund by law, airline passengers are granted automatic compensation,
eliminating the need for customers manually to apply for a refund’, it added.

The wide-ranging 55-page document urges ministers to be ready to swiftly put Covid testing back in place for travellers, if other countries require it again.

It comes after the National Audit Office said in a damning report last week that there had been no system to measure the success of measures such as the traffic light system, self-isolation, testing, quarantine hotels or passenger locator forms.

Huw Merriman, the Conservative chairman of the Transport Committee, argued: ‘Legislation is urgently needed to give the industry more flexibility to recruit new staff for the summer, to give the regulator more teeth to intervene on behalf of consumers and to provide protection from airline insolvencies.’

It comes amid long queues and general chaos at transport hubs over Easter, as the industry struggled to deal with a resurgence of travellers after restrictions eased.

Looking back on the Government’s response to the crisis, he added: ‘In the face of a global pandemic, today’s report acknowledges the difficult position faced by Government.

‘However, Government action was inconsistent. It left industry and passengers confused and unable to plan ahead.

‘This resulted in a severe economic deficit for the aviation sector. Thousands of people lost their jobs. Many more could not visit their loved ones.

‘Now that Government has removed all coronavirus-related restrictions on international travel, ministers must get on with protecting the sector against future economic shocks and reassuring passengers that future restrictions will only be implemented in extreme circumstances.’

The report noted that some Ryanair passengers are still waiting, four years after being impacted by a 2018 pilot strike, for compensation due to the company legally challenging CAA enforcement action.

Metro.co.uk has contacted the budget airline for comment.

Responding to the MPs’ report, Paul Smith, consumer director at the CAA, said: ‘We have regularly asked for stronger consumer enforcement powers, including the ability to impose fines on airlines.

‘This would allow us to take faster action when appropriate and bring our powers in line with other sectoral regulators.

‘Proposals outlined in the government’s recent consultation on enforcement powers, which are supported by the Committee, will – if implemented – improve passenger rights and equip the Civil Aviation Authority with better tools to act swiftly and effectively for the benefit of consumers.’

The committee welcomed previous comments by ministers suggesting that travel restrictions will only be applied in ‘extreme circumstances’ in future.

Consumer group Which? also welcomed the call for stronger regulatory powers to protect passengers.

Director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha said: ‘If the Government wants to future-proof the aviation sector it must prioritise restoring trust in travel with reforms that deliver for consumers.

‘Consumer trust took a battering during the pandemic as some airlines ignored their obligations on refunds and passengers struggled with confusing restrictions and a dysfunctional travel testing system.’

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said the report provided ‘welcome recognition of the devastating impact the pandemic had on aviation’ in the face of ‘ever-changing’ restrictions.

She also backed ‘a comprehensive recovery package’ for the industry.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Our priority was protecting public health and these measures bought vital time for the rollout of our successful booster programme as we responded to new and concerning variants.

‘We also ensured they were in place for no longer than absolutely necessary and the UK was the first country in the G7 to remove all travel restrictions.

‘In future, the Government’s default approach will be to use the least stringent measures, to minimise the impact on travel as far as possible and these will only be implemented in extreme circumstances.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article