Report shows airlines owe £5.6m for cancelled flights

UK consumers are suffering serious financial and emotional distress as they struggle to claim refunds for flights and holidays cancelled due to Covid-19, a dossier of more than 14,000 refund complaints compiled by Which? reveals.

The complaints – which were passed on to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for its review of how airlines handled cancellations and refunds – are worth more than £5.6 million in claims.

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “We are hearing from thousands of passengers who are still waiting for refunds months after flights and holidays were cancelled.

“These people are often in desperate circumstances of their own and have told us the stress of being left out of pocket has significantly impacted on their emotional wellbeing and finances.

“As a first step to restoring lost trust in the travel industry, it’s important lawbreaking companies are not let off the hook for their actions.

“The regulator must act swiftly on this evidence and take strong action against those airlines that have repeatedly been exposed for flouting the rules.”

Under Denied Boarding Regulations, if a UK or EU airline – or airline flying from a UK or EU airport – cancels a flight, you are due a refund within seven days.

Package holidays are protected by the Package Travel Regulations, which entitle you to a full refund within 14 days if your holiday is cancelled.

But many firms have been openly breaking the law amid an unprecedented volume of cancellations caused by the pandemic.

Since asking affected passengers to report airlines to the CAA through its online tool on May 22, Which? has received and submitted more than 14,000 reports in just under six weeks, of which more than 12,600 have been analysed to establish data trends.

Those who told Which? they had been denied a refund are out of pocket by an average of £446.40, and have collectively spent a total of 52,000 hours – nearly six years – trying to chase their airline for money they are due.

Together, the 12,602 people whose reports were analysed told Which? they were owed £5.63m in refunds.

The most reported airline was Ryanair, accounting for four in 10 (44%) of the complaints made to Which?, with passengers seeking a total of £1.15m. Half of these (50%) reported spending more than five hours of their time trying to contact the airline for a refund.

EasyJet was the next most complained-about airline, accounting for one in seven (14%) of complaints. Customers told Which? they were collectively owed more than £663,000 in refunds, with nearly three in 10 (29%) telling Which? they were yet to receive a response from the airline.

Virgin Atlantic was the third most complainedabout, with 7% of complaints saying the customer was awaiting a refund. Nearly three in 10 (29%) customers who reported Virgin Atlantic to Which? told the consumer champion they had spent more than five hours trying to claim a refund, while 31% had spent over 10 hours.

Tui and Etihad customers spent the most time chasing a refund, with 39% in both cases spending more than 10 hours contacting their airline to get a refund.

FED UP: Frustrated airline passengers have been driven to distraction by their airlines dragging their feet on refunds, claims Which?