By Ilaria Grasso Macola
Which? has called on the government to bolster the aviation watchdog’s powers as fresh data reveals that passengers are losing faith in airlines’ ability to provide good customer service.
Data published today by the consumer champion found that 39 per cent of adults who flew between January and October 2022 didn’t trust that airlines would treat them fairly if something went wrong when flying with them again in the future.
The percentage of unhappy travellers increases to 49 per cent when taking into account those who suffered a delay with their most recent flight.
Passengers were particularly angry about the lack of information on the level of support they would be entitled to in the event of cancellations and delays.
Rocio Concha, policy and advocacy director at Which?, called on transport secretary Mark Harper to “urgently set out plans to equip” the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with enough enforcement powers to “hold airlines to account when they mistreat passengers and neglect their legal responsibilities.”
These include allowing the CAA to directly fine carriers that fail to uphold consumer standards.
“Without decisive action, some airlines will continue to be emboldened to fail passengers, as we’ve seen repeatedly in the last few years,” Concha added.
The director’s words were echoed by beach holiday retailer On the Beach, whose chief executive Simon Cooper said that “reform needs to happen now.”
Paul Smith, consumer director at the CAA, said the regulator has asked numerous times to have increased powers.
“This would allow us to take faster action when appropriate and bring our powers in line with other sectoral regulators,” Smith told City A.M.
A DfT spokesperson said the government was looking into improving passenger protections, “including greater powers for the CAA.”
“It’s vital passengers feel confident when flying and if flights are disrupted, airlines are responsible for issuing refunds and compensation where necessary,” they said.
Over the summer, the consumer champion reported several airlines – including British Airways and Easyjet – to the CAA over potential breaches of consumer law such as adopting misleading language over refund policies.
The companies have always rebutted the accusations, saying that consumer group’s claims are “unfounded and unsupported.”
Nevertheless, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the CAA published a joint letter in July, urging airlines to comply with consumer law.
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