Først etter at BBC hadde et stort oppslag om at Wizz Air ikke dekket lovpålagte ordninger, fikk pipen en annen lyd. (Red.)
Wizz Air passengers may get refunds as claims reopened
- Published
1 hour ago
Image source, Reuters
By Katy Austin & Michael Ertl
BBC transport correspondent & business
reporter
Rejected passenger claims against Wizz Air will be
re-examined after an "unprecedented" intervention by the UK's
aviation regulator.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is taking
action following concerns the airline has not been paying passengers what they
were owed for cancelled or delayed flights.
The action could lead to claims over the past six
years being reopened.
Wizz Air said significant improvements had already
been made.
The regulator highlighted passenger frustrations
about not being provided with alternative flight options when theirs was
cancelled, which is a legal obligation.
Wizz Air has committed to look again at claims for
replacement flight costs, transfers when replacement flights were via different
airports, and care such as hotel costs.
"We made it clear to Wizz Air last year that
the way it was treating passengers was unacceptable," Paul Smith, the
CAA's joint-interim chief said.
Under the action, Wizz Air will have to look again
at rejected claims for flights to or from the UK from 18 March 2022 onwards.
Passengers do not need to take any action for these claims to be reviewed.
Passengers with flights up to six years ago can
also ask the airline to reopen their cases.
It is understood up to 10,000 people could have
their claims revisited.
What are my
rights if my flight is cancelled?
Passengers have a number of rights under UK law if they are:
- flying from a UK airport
- arriving at a UK airport on an EU or UK
airline
- arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline
Airlines must offer the choice of a refund or
alternative flight, regardless of how far in advance the cancellation was made.
Return tickets must be fully refunded if either
leg is cancelled.
And passengers have a right to be booked on
another airline - or other suitable mode of transport - if it is going to their
destination significantly sooner.
Wizz Air said it had introduced an automated
refund process to deal with passenger claims.
"We know that we need to rebuild trust, and
we want to show our customers how serious we are about making improvements for
the future," Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said.
The consumer group Which? said the CAA should take
the airline to court if it did not fulfil legal requirements.
"Wizz Air has an abysmal record on meeting
its legal obligations under consumer law, racking up millions of pounds in
county court judgements after continually failing to appropriately reroute
passengers," its travel editor, Rory Boland, said.
Wizz Air has been the
worst major airline for flight delays from UK airports for two years
in a row. The company said it had improved punctuality in 2023.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.