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Airline complaints soar after new rules
Complaints against airlines have taken off since new European regulations on flight disruption came into force in February.
Consumer watchdog body the Air Transport Users Council received more complaints and enquiries about delays and cancellations in the six weeks following the new regulations than it had received in the previous 46 weeks.
The AUC’s annual report out today shows that concerns about delays came top of its written complaints for the first time since 2001-02 – while the number of complaints about delays was nearly double the previous year.
But the AUC said this does not mean a that airline punctuality is twice as bad as last year, more that passengers appear more willing to pursue their rights under the new EC regulations on denied boarding, cancellations and delays.
The AUC received a total of 6,578 complaints and enquires about airlines, a rise of 15%. Of this total, 2,204 were in writing and 3,514 by telephone. Nearly a quarter of the written complaints came after the introduction of the euro regulations on February 17 and March 31. The AUC said it took up almost 600 of the written complaints with airlines and secured an “improved outcome” in 345 cases.
Delays, mishandled baggage and cancellations topped the complaints league, while complaints about ticketing fell by three per cent.
AUC chairman Tina Tietjen described the EU rules as being a “significant step forward for air passenger rights” while acknowledging that the legislation has not been popular with airlines.
“But we hope that they remember that passengers would also prefer not to have to exercise their newfound rights as to do so would mean that they had been subject to a flight disruption,” she said.
“The controversy surrounding the new legislation should not cloud its primary aim – which is to motivate airlines to improve punctuality.”
Report by Phil Davies
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