Airlines call for help amid refunds debate

AIRLINES UK, whose members include British Airways,

Virgin Atlantic, easyjet and Ryanair, has reportedly written to the government requesting a range of measures to help them through the coronavirus crisis.

In a letter obtained by Sky News, Airlines UK asked the government to underwrite “hundreds of millions of pounds” in regulatory and air traffic control charges and suspend

APD payments for six months after the end of the pandemic, as well as the option to issue vouchers instead of refunds.

The Business Travel Association noted that while major UK airlines are offering refunds, many major overseas carriers are refusing to do so, even where flights have been cancelled as a result of government advice. “These airlines are instead offering vouchers which prevent the BTA’S member TMCS from refunding their corporate traveller customers, and the companies for whom they work, from recovering the money that they have paid,” says the BTA.