Everytime we see mass flight cancellations and delays, the same stories flood in: passengers corralled onboard to wait for hours in a stationary plane, or stuck without food or water
its rerouting policy. Despite those cancellations being BA’s own fault, it insisted it would only rebook customers on its own flights or carriers it has a commercial relationship with, even if this meant passengers would be waiting days to get home. Hopefully they’ve learned from their mistakes in the past and will get their passengers home asap.
Yet, nothing is done by the regulator. No airline has faced consequences from the CAA for not following the law on rerouting, or for letting their customers sleep on the floor of the airport, or indeed for any of the law-breaking that appears to be occurring over disruption. In 20 years, no airline in the UK has been fined for breaking consumer law.
Part of the problem is that the CAA, unlike aviation regulators in other countries, can’t directly fine airlines. It must take them to court – a process that is as long as it is ineffectual. The Government has admitted as much and said it intends to give the CAA fining powers. Yet, No 10 has set no date to introduce this legislation.
In this void, many airlines seem to have become increasingly confident in treating customers like chumps. Can you think of another industry in which companies appear to think it’s fine to keep customers stuck in a confined space with no food or water for hours on end, or where customers have to call in the bailiffs to get the money they are legally due – as many passengers do every year.
Passengers are willing to wait and be patient while they are stranded abroad or putting holiday plans left in tatters back together, but only if in return airlines start treating them with some respect.
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