Airline passengers in UK being let down by ‘toothless regulation’

Airline passengers in the UK are being let down by toothless regulation, with no airline fined in the last 20 years for breaching obligations, the consumer group Which? has found. It called for urgent legislation to beef up the regulator’s powers, contrasting the lack of action in the UK over unpaid refunds or compensation with fines issued in other countries. The Civil Aviation Authority was given powers in June 2003 to apply to courts to ensure enforcement against airlines for consumer protection. It has only pursued that course of action once, however, against Ryanair in 2018, in a case that ended with the airline agreeing to pay due compensation to passengers but no further sanction. Authorities in the US this month fined British Airways $1.1m after 1,200 complaints about delayed refunds during the pandemic, but the carrier has not faced any similar threat in the UK over affected customers. British law requires airlines to issue refunds for cancellations within seven days, but many passengers waited months during the pandemic. CAA data from 2020 alone also showed more than 24,000 complaints recorded over compensation under the EU261, due from airlines for cancelled or delayed flights. Italy, Germany and Greece are among the other nations whose regulators have fined airlines in recent years. Which? said the CAA should be doing more to pursue law-breaking airlines and urgently needed stronger enforcement powers. The Department for Transport announced this week that it plans to give the CAA the power to fine airlines “when parliamentary time allows”.<br/>