New law to crack down on airlines’ extra fees
AIRLINES will be banned from hitting families with sneaky add-on charges under new laws being drafted by Rishi Sunak, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Prime Minister will use the King’s Speech on Tuesday to announce measures to tackle ‘drip-pricing’ – where airlines advertise one price before piling on hefty add-ons for luggage, picking your seat and printing boarding passes.
The changes are part of proposals worked up in Downing Street to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and are seen by Mr Sunak as a post-Brexit benefit.
They are due to be introduced in the upcoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill reading by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch.
One source said: ‘The fees themselves wouldn’t be banned, but they couldn’t be “dripped” in as you purchase your journey – to avoid people ending up paying more than they had intended.’
A Westminster insider added: ‘We know people are fed up with finding hidden extra costs in their online shopping baskets. That’s why this Government is seizing the benefits of our Brexit freedoms by looking at new legal measures to keep more cash in people’s pockets and restoring honesty to retail pricing.’
Budget airlines are notorious for ‘drip-pricing’ – but bigger companies are now resorting to these charges, too.
Hidden fees across the travel, entertainment and hospitality industries are estimated to cost online consumers £1.6 billion each year, officials claim.
Consumer champion group Which? said: ‘Customers need clear pricing upfront and should not find themselves having to pay for charges hidden until the checkout.’
Conservative insiders have made clear Mr Sunak’s political future rests heavily on this week’s King’s Speech.
The Prime Minister said its announcements will pave the way for the ‘next 70’ years and will ‘address the challenges this country faces... not [through] the easy way out with short-term gimmicks’.
The Speech is also expected to include measures on tackling anti-social behaviour, legislation to protect tenants and the Holocaust Memorial Bill – which will ensure the atrocity is never forgotten.