After a dialogue with the European Commission and national protection authorities, 16 leading airlines pledged to refund passengers in case of flight cancellation within seven days, as well as provide more complete information about their rights in case of possible flight cancellation by the airline.
Airlines such as Aegean Airlines, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, EasyJet, Iberia, Eurowings, KLM, Lufthansa, TAP, Norwegian, Ryanair, Vueling and Wizz Air took part in the dialogue.
According to a press release issued by the EU Commission yesterday, September 30, following the dialogue, airlines have pledged to pay equal attention on their emails, websites and other means of communication to the various options a passenger has in the event of a flight cancellation.
This means that in such situations, passengers will be offered re-routing, refunds and vouchers if offered by the airline, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, the airlines have agreed to make a clear distinction between airline cancellations and flight cancellations by the passengers themselves to avoid confusion in the future.
The airlines also indicated that vouchers can only be issued to passengers if they have explicitly selected them, meaning unused vouchers that passengers received early in the pandemic can be refunded in cash if passengers so choose.
Finally, it was noted that passengers who have booked a ticket through an intermediary and are experiencing difficulties in obtaining a refund from him can apply for a refund directly to the airlines.
“In the early stages of the pandemic, some airlines forced vouchers on passengers. They acted contrary to EU consumer protection rules. This was unacceptable. After our joint action, I am glad that most of them have now agreed to return these vouchers. I urge the authorities to ensure that other airlines also offered refunds for such vouchers, “Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said, commenting on the airlines’ decision.
Transport Commissioner Adina Velean also welcomed the fact that the reimbursement gap has been closed and that these airlines are willing to commit to solving the remaining problems.
“This is critical to restoring passenger confidence. The rebuilding of the air transport sector depends on it,” Valean added.
The dialogues will now be closed by the Consumer Protection Cooperation. However, the network will continue to monitor the process and check how successfully and correctly the undertaken commitments are being fulfilled.