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Airlines operating in the UK must face an investigation into whether consumer laws were violated by failing to offer cash refunds to passengers during the coronavirus crisis to date.
The industry, along with holiday operators, have been accused by angry consumers of delaying returning cash since flights were first disrupted in March when the country was blocked to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Complaints have ranged from incentives to accept coupons and late payments after a formal refund request.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has recently obtained reimbursement commitments from several vacation companies, including LoveHoliday, said Wednesday it was examining whether airlines had violated legal rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights that consumers couldn’t legally take.
He said that in some cases where flights were not canceled, customers received no refunds and instead were asked to rebook or be offered a coupon.
It has been under increasing pressure to act in the face of criticism from consumer groups.
Which ?, which has accused all of the major UK airlines of breaking the law regarding refunds, has demanded that the CMA be given powers to impose fines on the industry rather than simply imposing payment deadlines.
The travel industry has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus disruption, with thousands of airline jobs lost due to schedules being broken, planes grounded and staff stopped working.
Flybe became the first business victim of the crisis before the first UK shutdown began, Virgin atlantic had to secure a ransom and has halved its size while British Airways has laid off more than 12,000 employees.
The CMA statement said: “The investigation will consider situations where airlines continued to operate flights despite the fact that people were unable to legally travel for non-essential purposes in the UK or overseas, for example during the second lockdown. in England in November.
“The CMA is aware that in some cases where flights were not canceled, customers were not offered refunds even though they could not legally travel.
“Instead, many were offered the option to rebook or receive a voucher.”
The watchdog said that while it understood that reservation systems had come under great pressure from the pandemic, customers may have been unfairly disbursed.
