The European Parliament will vote today on whether airlines should be forced to provide financial protection to passengers in the event of an airline failure.
It will also decide whether airlines should be legally obliged to provide air fares inclusive of taxes, fees and charges and be prevented from discriminating access to fares throughout Europe.
The ECTAA, the European body that represents travel agents and tour operators in 29 European countries, said it hopes these moves will be supported by the European Parliament in its plenary session today.
“When airlines go bankrupt or cease operations, passengers have currently no recourse against the airline to recover the money of their unused ticket or to obtain repatriation if they are stranded abroad,” said an ECT AA statement.
“According to a study mandated by the European Commission, 50 airlines went bankrupt in the between 2000 and 2005, leaving more than 63,000 passengers stranded abroad without a return ticket.”
ECTAA president Jan Van Steen said: “We need a contingency plan for our customers in order to provide adequate protection in case of an airline failure.
“There is a big consumer protection gap. While IATA agents are required to provide bonding and tour operators need to provide financial guarantees under European legislation to protect customers against their financial failure, there is no such protection afforded by customers against airline failures.”
By Bev Fearis
