€327k for travel disruption redress

Irish airline passengers affected by cancellations or disruptions to their travel received €327,503 in compensation and refunds last year.

The annual report of the Commission for Aviation Regulation, which licences airlines to sell commercial flights, shows it received 5,199 queries on air passenger rights in 2016, a 7% increase on 2015.

“Passengers affected by flight disruptions received €327,503 in 2016, €311,350 in compensation and €16,153 in refunds and reimbursements,” said the report.

“Just over 81% (4,237) related to requests for information on passenger rights, the complaint procedure, and matters that we do not have the authority to deal with.

“Another 944 submissions related to cancellations, delays, denied boarding, and downgrades. This represents a drop of 7% on 2015 numbers. We received a small number of queries (18) about the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air.”

The report also indicates the commission’s concern that compensation arrangements currently in place for holidaymakers may not be properly funded. In a foreword to the report, commissioner Cathy Mannion described the collapse a year ago of the tour operator Lowcostholidays Spain SL, which resulted in compensation totalling €3.4m being paid to holidaymakers who had booked with them.

“One of our functions is to operate a scheme that compensates qualifying customers if a tour operator or travel agent goes out of business,” said the report.

“In July 2016, Lowcostholidays SL collapsed and we immediately put in place arrangements to deal with claims. By the end of the year we completed our work, having dealt with 3,871 eligible claims. Most of these holiday packages included accommodation that had been paid for by the customer but where the hotel did not receive the funds from Lowcostholidays.”

The commission had to draw down almost €3m from the long-standing Travellers’ Protection Fund when it emerged that the Irish arm of the Majorca-based Lowcostholidays was only bonded to the tune of €79,243.

More than 3,000 individuals received a payout from the fund, which has been in existence since 1984, is paid for by travel agents and tour operators, and administered by the commission.

“From 1984 to 1987, tour operators made contributions to top up the fund. The fund has not been added to since that time,” said the report.

“This has had a significant impact on the amount remaining in the Travellers’ Protection Fund.”

In a statement, the commission said it had begun to examine the existing bonding and Travellers’ Protection Fund arrangements.

“As part of this exercise, we will consider the strengths and weaknesses of various options and the extent to which these options can be accommodated under the existing licensing and bonding legislation,” it said.

The statement adds that the commission was also commencing an overview of the requirements of the EU Package Travel Directive, which comes into force next year.