MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2020) The United Kingdom's Consumer and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into possible breaches of consumer rights by airlines over failing to refund travelers restricted by COVID-19 rules.
The move comes following complaints against all major UK airlines accusing them of slow-walking refunds and finding roundabout ways to escape reimbursing ticket-holders who were legally barred from traveling after the second lockdown was imposed in November.
"We will be carefully analysing all the evidence to see whether any airlines breached consumers' legal rights by refusing people cash refunds for flights they could not lawfully take," CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said in a statement.
In tandem with the Civil Aviation Authority, the CMA will closely study refund schemes to determine whether to undertake enforcement actions against individual airlines.
In the statement, the agency said it was aware that some flights were not canceled and continued to operate and many customers were offered options to rebook or receive vouchers. Under such circumstances, the airlines are suspected of trying to avoid directly reimbursing the customers.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly announced a month-long lockdown across England on October 31 after the hybrid three-tier system appeared to have no effect on the spiraling COVID-19 infection rates.
The aviation industry has been among the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with many privately-owned low-costers going under and most major airlines shedding jobs in the thousands.
