Canceled flights (video) – Refunds still complicated – News

Does the airline have the correct to impose a credit score on me within the occasion of a canceled flight?

No. European Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 gives that within the occasion of a flight cancellation, airways should reimburse the passengers involved. Unlike the laws on vacationer stays, which was amended by an ordinance to permit journey businesses to problem belongings until September 15, the regulations on dry flights was not modified and continued to use. Clearly, airways that impose – or have imposed – belongings are outlawed.

This was the case for almost all of them through the first weeks of the well being disaster. From June, some are again in line and now straight reimburse passengers or beforehand issued credit. But not all of them. Among the unhealthy payers, we will cite TAP, Ryanair, Easyjet, Norwegian, Volotea, Tunisair, Air Algérie, Aeroflot, and so on.

Be cautious, this doesn’t imply that corporations should not have the correct to supply credit: they’ll accomplish that, whereas leaving the likelihood for passengers to acquire a refund if that’s what they need. We additionally invite corporations to make these belongings engaging (bonus, attainable use on a number of corporations, attainable reimbursement, transferability, and so on.) in order that passengers can take into account them with kindness.

When does the corporate need to reimburse me?

Ticket reimbursement have to be made inside 7 days, in response to European laws. This deadline has been shattered since March, as a result of unprecedented quantity of requests to be managed. For instance, Air France processed, between March and July, greater than 3 million reimbursement requests. But whereas delays are comprehensible, it’s unacceptable that many passengers are still ready for refunds for flights canceled through the first lockdown, greater than 6 months in the past now.

The airline doesn’t reply to my messages or refuses to reimburse me: who can I flip to?

First of all, it’s best to contact the corporate’s claims division. We advise you to do that by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (see our standard letter “Request for reimbursement in cash and not having any “). In the occasion of no response inside two months, or a detrimental response, the passenger can report their dispute to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). This has been very discreet because the begin of the well being disaster, however has assured us that it continues to look at all of the information obtained, even when there too the response time has significantly lengthened. The DGAC grievance type may be downloaded (1). In the occasion of a dispute, you can too flip to the local UFC-Que Choisir association closest to you.

I purchased my ticket on a reserving web site: who, the positioning or the airline, ought to reimburse me?

If you went by way of an middleman (journey company or on-line reservation web site), it’s as much as them to reimburse you. Contacting the airline will not be very helpful since they may at all times refer you to the ticket vendor… even when technically nothing prevents them from reimbursing the passenger straight in the event that they actually need to! It is even the best and quickest resolution; maybe an excessive amount of for corporations who don’t need to reimburse.

If you might be ready for reimbursement from an middleman, profitable your case may be very tough. In reality, the vendor paid the value of the ticket to the corporate when it was issued. To be capable to reimburse the passenger, he should subsequently wait to be reimbursed by the corporate himself, which may take a number of months. The scenario is all of the extra painful for shoppers as some corporations generally declare to have reimbursed the reservation web site, whereas the latter explains not having obtained something. In this case, it’s unimaginable to know who’s telling the reality and the place the refund course of actually stands. According to our info, the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) has been seized of instances of tour operators not having reimbursed passengers, though the corporate has offered proof of reimbursement. Conversely, the skilled union of tour operators, Les Entreprises du voyage, denounces tens of 1000’s of reimbursements not made by airways and encourages aggrieved shoppers to contact their journey company to take authorized motion towards the corporate involved. . But the competent courts are so congested that these actions are more likely to take no less than a 12 months …

Can I get a refund for a flight that isn’t canceled through the second lockdown?

It is determined by the businesses. There is certainly a authorized vacuum concerning instances the place flights aren’t canceled though passengers can’t attend. Technically, it is a case of a traditional “no show” (no-present of the passenger on the boarding gate). The corporations subsequently don’t have any obligation to reimburse the flight. While one can object that this case is a case of pressure majeure, as a result of administration’s resolution to impose confinement! In reality, some corporations enable passengers to vary the dates of their flights or to be reimbursed. This is the case, for instance, with Air France, which lets you acquire a credit score observe for non-canceled flights in only a few clicks.

Are authorized actions deliberate to pressure corporations to adjust to the regulation?

The UFC-Que Choisir, from March, frightened in regards to the practices of many airways. We have repeatedly denounced France’s silence, despite the fact that the European Commission insisted on the correct to reimbursement of vacationers. On April 24, we despatched a formal notice to 57 companies in order that they cease their practices, which some have carried out. Then, on May 19, now we have assigned 20 companies in courtroom for these unhealthy practices. The listening to was held on December 15. At the identical time, we took half in a concerted motion at European stage with ten European shopper protection associations which can be members of the European Bureau of Consumer Unions (Beuc). The European Commission and the regulatory authorities of the Member States have been requested to launch an investigation into the practices of airways.

(1) http://enqueteur.dgac.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/index.php/51924?lang=fr