Travel Companies: Give good airlines the power to monitor aviation

Tour operators and consumer groups have written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding the aviation regulator be given the power to fine airlines.

They want the UK government to announce bill at the forthcoming King’s Speech in November that would give the Civil Aviation Authority stronger powers to penalize airlines for poor customer service.

Signatories include the Managing Directors of Riviera Travel, Love Holidays and Thomas Cook, as well as the General Counsel of On the Beach and the Managing Director of the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

Flight warning: Tour operators and consumer groups have written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding the Civil Aviation Authority be given the power to fine airlines

Many Brits have seen their summer holiday plans severely disrupted by strikes, cancellations and wildfires in popular southern European destinations such as Rhodes and Tenerife.

Under current rules, travelers whose flights have been canceled should either receive a refund or be rerouted to a separate flight and be compensated for other expenses such as meals and accommodation.

According to the letter, however, airlines are “regularly in breach of duties under their control,” including the obligation to provide passengers with “clear and timely” information.

As a result, Which? says some vacationers are using their savings and overdrafts to fund their trips, which is having a negative impact on mental health.

In a recent survey by the group, 45 percent of travelers who experienced a delay said no airline staff were available to help them.

This turmoil has also created difficulties for package tour operators and third-party flight booking companies, who have struggled to recover millions of dollars in compensation.

Rocio Concha, which one? The Director of Policy and Advocacy said: “Thousands of passengers have been treated unfairly and in some cases unlawfully by airlines – and enough is enough.”

“We are calling on the Prime Minister to show he is on the side of holidaymakers by giving the aviation regulator the power to impose significant fines on airlines if they break the law.”

In late June, the Department of Transportation said the CAA should be given more enforcement powers over the airlines it regulates.

However, the government has not released a timetable for the passage of these reforms, raising doubts that they will happen before the next UK general election.

The CAA cannot directly fine an air carrier and must therefore apply to the courts for an enforcement order against the air carrier.

Last month, the public body launched legal action against Wizz Air after receiving numerous complaints against the low-cost airline over unpaid refunds.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said airlines “are unlikely to be immune as the economy worsens and if the CAA gains new powers to fine companies that fail to meet their legal obligations they could be hit by.” be affected by another attack.’ of the turbulence’.