Jet2 pressured to change flightpath on compensation claims
LEEDS-BASED airline Jet2 is amongst three airlines that have been on the receiving end of action from the Civil Aviation Authority, forcing them to change passenger policies.
Jet2, Aer Lingus and Wizz Air will have to offer passengers better support during times of disruption and delays and the CAA has said it will announce further action against operators for failure to comply with the new regulations.
The CAA commenced action against the airlines in March after complaints about the airlines’ approach to paying compensation on delayed and cancelled flights.
Despite a Court of Appeal decision last year, the airlines weren’t paying up for flights disrupted by ordinary technical faults, and were putting a two-year time limit on disruption claims, when a separate decision designated a six-year time frame.
Jet2 and Wizz Air have individually confirmed they are now paying compensation for ordinary technical faults, and Jet2 is also now processing compensation claims dating back six years
Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA said: “During the last year we’ve stepped in to make sure a number of major airlines change their approaches and improve the support provided to their passengers.
“The results of our recent action are a further boost for UK passengers and we are very pleased to see the changes the airlines involved have made. But our work is not done.
“We are determined to stand up for passengers and will continue to review how airlines are treating, and responding to, their customers in practice.”
Hungarian airline, Wizz Air, has refused to remove its two-year limit on claims, and the CAA has now referred this matter to the Hungarian Authority for Consumer Protection (HACP), which is the local regulator best placed to take forward this enforcement action.
