63 percent more requests for legal assistance regarding problems with flights this summer
PRESS RELEASE - The European Consumer Centre (ECC) looks back on a record number of enquires in the summer period. The consumer organisation received 63 percent more requests for assistance from Dutch airline passengers during the summer months this year than in the same period last year.
The vast majority of queries and complaints from airline passengers concerned flight cancellations (61%). This was followed by delays which caused the most problems for flight passengers (11%). Although the share of luggage problems represents a slightly smaller proportion of the total (7%), the ECC received six times as many complaints as the previous year.
ECC Director Eva Calvelo Muiño explains: “The summer of 2022 was dominated by the many cancelled flights, the problems at Schiphol and hard-to-reach travel agents. Travellers contact us when they cannot resolve issues themselves. In daily practice, we see that passengers are often poorly informed. We also hear many stories about claims that are not heard or unjustly rejected. The ECC then mediates and helps victims assert their rights.”
Common queries and complaints
The most common complaint is still that passengers have been waiting months for a response from the airline to their request for a refund. Airlines are not adhering to the repayment term of 7 days. Airlines also refer passengers who booked via a booking website back to that party. Although passengers may opt to resolve the matter through the intermediary, this is not necessary. Airlines are obliged to deal with claims presented to them directly.
Most claims that were rejected were related to cancellations with no alternative flight offered. In that case, passengers could book new flights themselves and request the difference in price, but according to the ECC, these requests are often wrongly rejected. Furthermore, the ECC sees cases in which requests for compensation are rejected without sufficient justification. Airlines invoke force majeure without explaining the specific situation, or in cases where it is doubtful that force majeure exists.