Passengers deserve ‘automatic compensation’ for BA disruption
British Airways has been urged to automatically compensate passengers caught up in the bank holiday disruption rather than wait for them to submit claims.
Consumer group Which? claimed the airline is in “grave danger” of failing its customers again unless it goes beyond the legal requirements in response to flight cancellations and delays.
Some 75,000 passengers were stranded after an IT shutdown following a power surge on 27 May caused travel chaos for three days. Under EU law passengers can claim compensation from BA for travel disruption, worth up to €600 (£524). They can also claim expenses for items such as hotels, meals and phone calls.
Which? believes the carrier should automatically issue statutory compensation to all affected passengers. In a letter to BA’S chief executive Alex Cruz, which? managing director of home product and services Alex Ne ill wrote :“Opting to do the bare minimum when compensating your customers for your failure to deliver the service you promised will undoubtedly cause further stress, inconvenience and financial hardship for passengers, and of course further damage to BA’S reputation.”