Don’t get grounded over flight complaints

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MY postbag has been full of complaints about problems obtaining a refund for flights cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.Two common excuses for refusing a cash refund keep arising and, in both cases, the airlines are wrong.

You need to go to the booking agent to obtain your refund:

Many people book flights via third party booking websites/agents and this seems to have been causing confusion when it comes to refunds. Airlines have been claiming passengers who have not booked directly with them cannot make a direct claim for a refund. Instead, they are telling passengers they must pursue their claim with the agent they booked with and paid their money to. But this position is wrong.The law that covers flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding, known as EC261, is clear that the airline refunds the passenger.

The European Court of Justice, the highest court in the land pre-Brexit, supports this position. So, if an airline tries to palm you off to the booking agent, tell them EC261 rules they are liable. If they continue to refuse, ask if they have an alternative dispute resolution scheme to lodge a claim with. If they do not, either contact the Civil Aviation Authority, via its PACT scheme, or, if you paid by card, make a chargeback claim with your bank or Section 75 claim with your credit card provider.

We can only give you a voucher:

This has been a very common response from airlines during the pandemic. Airlines are perfectly entitled to “offer” a voucher, but they cannot insist on this being the only remedy.

The law, again EC261, is also clear in this area. It provides that passengers are entitled to a “cash refund” if this is their desired remedy and the refund should be processed in a timely manner.To clarify, six months is not timely.