Which? is urging the government to prioritise legislation giving the CAA fining powers against airlines.
It comes as Which? highlights the millions of pounds in County Court Judgments (CCJs) and adjudication rulings against airlines that they apparently haven’t paid yet.
It analysed complaints data from the CAA for the 12 months up to March 2023, and obtained the latest court data from the Registry Trust.
Of the six airlines Which? looked at, five were collectively ordered to pay £11,461,101 by courts and adjudicators.
The bulk of this is likely a result from passenger claims for unpaid expenses, refunds and compensation.
The consumer champion believes this is due to weak regulation and a patchy dispute resolution system.
Which? is urging the Prime Minister to commit to legislation to give the Civil Aviation Authority direct fining powers in this year’s King Speech.
Which? first sounded the alarm about mounting numbers of claims in March this year, when it found ‘outstanding’ CCJs collectively worth more than £4.5 million.
At that time budget carrier Wizz Air accounted for almost half the total amount.
The CAA went on to take enforcement action against the airline.
Which?’s latest analysis has found that since March the number of ‘outstanding’ CCJs against Wizz Air only continued to rise – increasing from 1,601 in March to 2,587 at the start of October.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “The scale of court judgments and adjudication decisions piling up against major airlines shows how urgently reform is needed.”
“The cycle of poor treatment of passengers and no serious consequences is only likely to continue without intervention.”
