More than half airlines deny passengers payout following flight delays

AIRLINES are wrongly withholding compensation from delayed passengers, research has found.

Analysis by Which? of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data found that in 53 per cent of cases an airline was told to pay up after having refused a passenger compensation for a delayed flight.

The worst offender was Norwegian Air, which was told to pay out in 83 per cent of cases where a passenger had complained to the regulator about not being compensated for a delay.

The CAA said Ryanair was in the wrong in 77 per cent of cases and the Spanish airline Vueling was ruled against 79 per cent of the time.

Because the CAA cannot enforce its decisions, the data also shows that many airlines decided not to follow its recommendations.

In 74 per cent of cases where it was told it should pay up, Emirates declined to do so. United Airlines also said it would not pay in 42 per cent of cases.

Under EU law passengers flying long-haul can be entitled to up to €300 (£263) in compensation if their plane is between three and four hours late, or €600 if the flight arrives behind schedule by more than four hours.

Shorter delays of three hours or more experienced by short-haul passengers could mean they are entitled to €250 in compensation.

Which? is calling for a transport ombudsman who can enforce compensation for travellers.

The CAA believes that passengers on a multi-leg trip should get compensation if they miss a later flight because their first flight was delayed.

But some airlines, including Emirates, argue that if the second leg did not start or end in the EU, they are not liable to pay out.

Emirates called the CAA’S stance “misleading and unprofessional”, and said: “The safety of our passengers and crew always comes first, and many flight delays are caused by factors that are beyond our control and which are not the airline’s responsibility – such as inclement weather, bird strikes, and airport closures.

“We do everything possible to ensure that any disruption caused to our passengers is minimised.” A Norwegian Air spokesman said: “We understand that punctuality is vital for our passengers, and we strive to operate all flights on schedule. We take customer care very seriously and we always maintain a consistent policy regarding delays and cancellations in accordance with EU261”.

A Vueling spokesman said: “Due to the busy period of the summer season and operational disruptions experienced by Vueling in early July 2016, it took the company longer than usual to reply to some of our customers’ claims.

“These claims have already been managed by the company and the payment of compensation to passengers was done fully, complying with our obligations under the EU 261/2004 regulation.”

A CAA spokesman said: “Last year we introduced alternative dispute resolution to the aviation industry so passengers who have been unable to resolve a complaint with an airline can get an independent decision that the airline must abide by.

“The vast majority of UK airlines already offer passengers access to these services”.