Airlines are seeking €26bn (£22.7bn) in state aid to deal with the economic fallout from coronavirus, according to environmental campaigners, who accuse governments of failing to attach binding climate conditions to negotiations.
My flight to Europe is cancelled. All I’m being offered is an alternative flight or vouchers. Is this legal?
No. But that hasn’t stopped a number of airlines doing exactly that. All flights on EU carriers within, or into the EU, and all flights leaving from an EU airport, are protected by the EU’s “denied boarding” rules, which require a full refund in seven days when flights are cancelled.
The problem for consumers is that enforcing these rights is proving very difficult. After initially promising to refund passengers within 20 working days, Ryanair has now said passengers should accept vouchers valid for 12 months, or wait until the Covid-19 pandemic is over for a refund.
Refunds at British Airways are only being processed by customer services which, of course, is impossible to contact. easyJet, initially only offered refunds through customer services but now has a web portal to request refunds.
Note: the EU cancellation rules do not apply to non-EU carriers where the flight started outside the EU – for example, a Korean Air flight from Seoul to London.
In the face of a no-refund policy, what should I do?
Taking the offer of replacement vouchers in the current climate is highly risky given the airline may not be around in six months. While some will be happy to accept vouchers, many will not.
Coby Benson of the specialist flight compensation lawyers, Bott and Co, advises passengers to submit their refund request in writing, using the following text:
I understand that my flight [fight number] on [flight date] has been cancelled and I therefore request a full refund pursuant to articles 5(1)(a) and 8(1)(a) of EC Regulation No.261/2004. You are reminded that the refund must be made within seven days. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept a travel voucher.
If the airline does not respond or does not agree then the passenger can either issue court proceedings or use Alternative Dispute Resolution.
If your flight cost more than £100 and was booked using a credit card, you can hold the card provider jointly liable. When things calm down we suspect many passengers will be forced down this route.
My flight operated as scheduled but I was unable to go on it. What then?
The fact that the government advised against all but essential travel means travel insurance policies should pay foreign trip cancellation claims provided you bought your policy before the pandemic was declared on 11 March.
Miles Brignall
Air France, which has obtained €7bn in loans and loan guarantees from the French government, and Lufthansa, currently negotiating a €9bn rescue package with Berlin, top the charts in the airline bailout tracker compiled by Carbon Market Watch, Greenpeace, and Transport & Environment.
European governments have formally agreed €11.5bn in financial aid for airlines , including a £600m loan from the UK Treasury and Bank of England for EasyJet. A further €14.6bn is under discussion, including £500m Richard Branson is seeking from the British government to aid Virgin Atlantic.
The industry is grappling with a massive fall in demand: air travel is at a near standstill, with no end in sight, owing to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Some governments are seeking to attach strings to rescue plans. France’s minister for ecological transition, Élisabeth Borne, insisted Air France was not getting “a blank cheque”. The government has set “ecological commitments”, she said, including a 50% reduction in carbon emissions on domestic flights by 2024, as well as investing in more fuel-efficient planes.
Austria’s prime minister, Sebastian Kurz, announced his government would not help Lufthansa’s Austrian Airways operation without getting something in return, such as securing jobs in his country; while the vice-chancellor, Werner Kogler, has said he would “assume” a rescue would only happen with green conditions.
Campaigners claim none of the green strings agreed so far are binding, also pointing out that France has not set conditions on Air France’s non-domestic flights, which account for the majority of its emissions. “France’s green requests are a first but we had non-binding commitments for years and airline pollution ballooned,” said Andrew Murphy at Transport & Environment. “Marginally more efficient planes won’t put a dent in emissions if airlines still burn fossil fuels that they buy tax-free.”
The data emerged after a majority of European Union members called for a relaxation of air-passenger rights. At a virtual meeting of EU transport ministers on Wednesday evening, Germany, Spain and Romania added their voices to a statement signed by a dozen countries earlier in the day calling for an urgent change to EU rules, so airlines can reimburse cancelled tickets with vouchers, rather than cash.
The member states argued that the requirement of the 2004 EU regulation to reimburse cancelled flights in cash is adding to airlines’ cash-flow problems.
The European commissioner for transport, Adina Vălean, however, has previously said airlines can only offer vouchers if passengers accept them. Meanwhile, other member states voiced opposition to the plan, arguing it would “frustrate the legitimate expectations of passengers” according to a statement released after the meeting.
