Labor’s bid to bolster Australian airline passenger rights may prove weaker than existing law, Choice warns

Labor’s proposal to bolster airline customers’ rights to empower them when confronted with poor service and disruptions offers weaker protections than those Australians are entitled to under consumer law, Choice has warned. The consumer advocacy group also criticised the use of timeframe “targets” instead of “deadlines” as being more likely to let airlines off the hook more easily. It issued a range of warnings about the draft version of the aviation customer rights charter – an initiative that emerged from the Albanese government’s year-long white paper process for the industry. The draft charter revealed that the government had bowed to pressure from Qantas and other airlines advocating against laws that would force them to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights were delayed or cancelled – similar to a scheme that exists in the EU – after carriers said such rules would force them to pre-empt costs and bake them into higher base air fares. Choice, along with several other consumer groups, had long advocated for Australia to introduce a scheme to compensate passengers on delayed or cancelled flights for their lost time, on top of additional expenses incurred by the disruption.<br/>