Airlines in flight chaos could be forced to offer cash to customers: Plan could land them a £100 million bill
EasyJet and British Airways could be forced to pay compensation to millions of passengers whose flights have been canceled or delayed, The Mail on Sunday and This is Money can reveal.
A legal battle worth at least £100 million is brewing against the aviation giants over disruptions affecting more than 100,000 flights from 2016 to 2022.
Current regulations award passengers up to £520 if their flight is delayed by more than three hours, but this is only paid if passengers contact the airline directly.
Campaigners fear that many are unaware of their right to compensation and that few are making use of it.
The class action aims to have airlines automatically contact and offer compensation to customers whose travel was affected.
EasyJet, BA, Ryanair and rivals may need to contact customers to tell them they can claim delays and cancellations rather than letting them do it themselves
Legal documents seen by the MoS show that ‘fixed damages’ are being claimed on behalf of the affected passengers.
The case, launched earlier this year and still in its early stages, will put further strain on the airline industry after EasyJet canceled 1,700 flights from July to September due to air traffic control delays.
Potential cancellations have raised concerns among families preparing for summer vacation, many of whom also struggled with travel chaos last year.
But EasyJet and BA have already hired City law firms to bolster their defenses in the legal action, which could take up to three years.
> Your rights if your flight is canceled or delayed
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said: ‘While airlines already have a legal responsibility to inform passengers of their right to compensation and assistance if something goes wrong, all too often we hear that this is not happening.
“The fact that this case should be brought at all once again exposes the weak protection of passenger rights in the UK.”
A spokesperson for BA said: ‘We are complying with our obligations under the regulation and do not believe this claim has a proper legal basis.
“Customers may submit compensation requests directly to us online or by writing to our customer relations team to receive full payment for eligible claims.”
EasyJet said the case was “misguided”, adding it “already complies with applicable law and provides an online claim form where passengers can claim 100 per cent of their compensation”.