Passenger planes of EasyJet and Ryanair sitting unused at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on April 28, … [+]
12 EU countries have asked the European Commission to suspend a law requiring airlines to offer a full refund for any cancelled flight. They say that airlines should be allowed to give time-limited vouchers during the Coronavirus crisis instead, to prevent mass bankruptcies and incentivise people to fly again soon.
As Coronavirus has caused mass cancellations of flights across Europe, many airlines have offered customers vouchers to use on a future flight, without mentioning the possibility of getting a refund. EU Passenger Rights Law requires airlines to offer refunds as an option, and cannot force passengers to take vouchers instead. However customers across Europe have reported airlines either refusing to issue refunds or not offering the option on their websites.
The European Commission has insisted that the law will still apply during the COVID19 crisis. However it is up to national governments to enforce the law, and some such as the Netherlands have said they are not enforcing the law at this time. The Commission can take such governments to court, forcing them to pay large fines in infringement procedures.
But the governments, and the airlines, are hoping that the Commission will relent before it gets to that stage. Consumer advocates say the airlines are delaying answering queries about refunds because they hope eventually the Commission will propose to suspend the law. Carriers such as Air France, KLM and Ryanair have told passengers they must wait several months for their refund request.
“We’ve seen countless examples of airlines and travel companies undermining consumers’ rights by trying to push people to accept vouchers,” said Monique Goyens, head of the European consumers organization BEUC. “Consumers should not be forced by governments to pick up the bill to bail out the travel industry.”
Under the law, passengers who accept a voucher have waived their right to demand a refund later.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands sent a letter today to the Commission, the EU’s executive branch, saying the law does not make sense during this emergency situation.
“[The] obligation to reimburse cancelled tickets in cash, if the passenger so decides, places airlines in a difficult situation where they are facing a serious cash flow challenge,” the letter reads. “When the wording of the regulation was conceived, the current global crisis and its impact on air travel could not have been foreseen.”
“The goal shared by the European Union and its member states must now be to preserve the structure of the European air traffic market beyond the current crisis, while considering the interests and necessary protection of passengers.”
The countries say that forcing passengers to accept vouchers will incentivize them to fly sooner. This will “will not only protect airlines and consumers in these difficult times but it will also stimulate market recovery through flexibility of travel and enhancement of consumer trust in the long-term.”
Today European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova signalled the Commission may be changing its stance as a result of the national government pressure. “This is a very sensitive topic and the subject of very thorough debate,” she told journalists.
She said talks are ongoing to find a “workable European solution” that would balance Europe’s strong consumer protection rights with the liquidity problems of airlines. “This might result, or might not result, in some legislative proposal – it’s not clear at this moment,” she said.
European air traffic agency Eurocontrol says only coordinated measures can get the aviation sector … [+]
Transport ministers are meeting today in a video summit coordinated from Brussels, to decide if and when travel restrictions can be lifted in time to allow people to take international vacations this summer. The European tourism sector, which accounts for 10% of the EU’s economic output and 12% of its employment, has warned that the sector faces collapse if people don’t fly or cross borders this summer. Already the sector faces a 50% loss to its turnover in 2020, according to the Commission.
Ahead of today’s meeting, industry association Airlines 4 Europe has written to the ministers saying they are ready to welcome passengers with appropriate health measures in place. They are warning that any EU requirement for social distancing on planes would make it impossible to continue operations.
According to European air traffic agency Eurocontrol, air travel has fallen by 90% this month as a result of the pandemic. Airlines have warned that without urgent help and flexibility from governments, they face bankruptcy. So far Europe’s airlines have asked for €12.8 billion in bailouts.
