Sixteen major European airlines that were the subject of numerous complaints have reimbursed consumers for over 500,000 vouchers they had imposed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as compensation for canceled flights, according to the European Commission.
The 16 include Brussels Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Wizzair, Vueling, EasyJet, Air France and Ryanair.
They were pushed, in a “dialogue” with the Commission and the European Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network), to review their policies and define commitments to reimburse and properly inform customers.
The CPC Network acted in this matter under the coordination of a group of national authorities, including Belgium’s Economic Affairs Department.
Airlines that had bypassed European consumer rights and imposed vouchers instead of refunding cancelled flights were encouraged to contact aggrieved travellers and offer them cash in exchange for the vouchers.
Out of the 2.5 million travellers contacted, according to the Commission, more than 500,000 who had not already used the voucher preferred this option.
“Airlines have overall implemented their commitments regarding the massive cancellation crisis of 2020,” European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said. “The bulk of reimbursement backlogs has been cleared, consumers are better informed of their rights and millions of euros were reimbursed.”
Following this dialogue, the CPC Network has started another one with “intermediary” airlines eDreams ODIGEO, Etraveli, Kiwi.com and Otravo.
