Others spoke of losing claims and having to resubmit forms up to seven times, while passengers who had been involved in previous disturbances said they waited months for airlines to speak to them. Consumer champions are calling for regulatory powers to impose fines on airlines if they violate compensation rules, fearing they will be repeated when the summer school holidays begin next month. Scheduled flight bookings for July are already above 2019 levels. The beginning of June was the first time that many people went on holiday abroad since the pandemic began, with about 2 million people traveling abroad. However, staff shortages meant that airlines and tour operators found it difficult to meet demand. Tui canceled more than 180 flights, accusing it of “operating and supply chain problems”. British Airways canceled 124 with several weeks notice and Wizz Air also canceled flights. EasyJet has canceled more than 280 flights since May 28 and said it had told customers they could book again, receive a refund or “apply for compensation in accordance with the rules”. However, some easyJet passengers said they were denied compensation. Ben Brabin and his wife and two children were to fly early in the afternoon of May 27 from Gatwick to Pisa, Italy for a family reunion that was originally planned before the pandemic. After hours of delays, the flight was canceled because it would not reach Pisa before the night curfew. EasyJet re-booked a flight several days later – after the end of the reunion – so the Brabyns found a flight to Naples. This meant that money spent on parking in Gatwick, renting a car in Pisa and staying was all wasted, with extra cost for airfare and last minute car rental, leaving Brabin with about 00 1,500 out of pocket. He assumed that they would receive a refund of 80 880 in compensation – £ 220 per person. But last week he received an email saying he was “ineligible”. “I have not received a refund or any compensation,” Brabin said. “It simply came to our notice then. They did not give a speech. I’ve had some liking in the past – it’s hard to manage. But not now.” Other easyJet passengers reported on social media that they were also denied compensation. An easyJet spokesman apologized, saying: “While of course we will fully reimburse the family for the alternative flight and other costs incurred as this flight was canceled due to events beyond our control, we do not owe any compensation for this opportunity.” John Turville and Laurie O’Brien, in the honeymoon that British Airways almost ruined by canceling their flight to Buenos Aires. Photo: Brochure Tui passengers said on social media that they had been denied compensation because the airline’s website said they were not on the list, although some posted photos of boarding passes online. Others said they tried seven times to file a claim. Tui apologized to customers and said a technical error in its flight registration system had caused problems that have now been fixed. Only a small number of passengers were affected, he said. Some passengers waited longer just for an answer. Laurie O’Brien and her husband John Turville were scheduled to fly to Buenos Aires for their honeymoon on April 3 with British Airways, but their flight was canceled while at Heathrow. They were 13 hours late on a replacement trip offered by BA. Two months later, they received only one general email, O’Brien said. He believes that everyone should receive 20 520 for the cancellation and delay: “It is unacceptable that we have not received any apology or communication. “They feel as if they are hoping that people will just forget their claims.” BA said it was sorry for the delay in responding to the couple and would contact them shortly. Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Who ?, said: “We have seen many examples of carriers not informing passengers about [their] rights and it takes weeks to respond to claims – just to invite them to reapply due to technical errors. Consumers should not be forced to jump through hoops to receive the refunds and compensation they are legally owed. “In order to prevent further abuse of passengers’ rights as the summer holiday season approaches, regulators should be given substantive powers to hold airline operators accountable for violating the rules, starting with the Air Force Authority’s direct fines.” Resolver, which helps customers file complaints, said 2,949 people had already complained about canceled flights in June – the average last summer was less than 1,000. Resolver’s Martin James said it was “a great number” and was flooded with research. “If a flight is canceled, then compensation is valid, so no one should be informed that they do not qualify unless there is a specific reason that precludes a claim – the fault must be that of the airline or be predictable by it. So the strike action comes in, the storm action is out. “The air traffic control strike is over, the understaffing has entered.” Passengers on most UK airlines can escalate the matter to one of the CAA’s intermediaries, known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This month was the first time many people have traveled abroad since the Covid restrictions were lifted. Photo: Tolga Akmen / EPA In 2019, airlines and airports paid £ 12.9 million in compensation to just 18,000 of the 27,188 people who used ADRs, according to quarterly CAA data from the Observer. Complaints decreased during the pandemic when fewer people flew and in 2021 the number of successful claims also decreased significantly, with 2,550 applicants receiving a. 1.7 million share of 9,627 claims. The CAA does not publish data on complaints that were resolved or rejected by airlines and airports before the ADR. Grant Shapps, the secretary of transport, has proposed changing the rules to a system similar to the train delay compensation scheme, which some analysts say would mean lower compensation for travelers, but this would only apply to domestic flights in the United States. Βασιλείου. Airports have calmed down since the semester, but are likely to see more queues in July, with a possible strike by pilots in Scandinavia and airport staff in France. In the UK, airlines and airports are struggling to replace the 30,000 workers laid off during the pandemic. Shapps has blamed the industry for poor planning, but industry leaders say the recruits are taking on more jobs due to three-month delays in obtaining security clearances for new airport staff. ForwardKeys, which monitors tickets issued for scheduled flights, said July bookings were already at 102% of 2019 levels and 93% for August. Olivier Ponti, vice president for information, said: “The destination with the best performance at the moment is Turkey, where bookings are 116% ahead of the corresponding time of 2019. It is followed by Greece, 50% ahead and India, 31 % in front .” Abta, the travel agency, said 58% of people had booked a holiday for the next 12 months, up from 44% in October last year.
