Air passenger rights just a paper exercise

AS a regular air traveller, I have experienced my fair share of delayed and cancelled flights.

I was delighted when an EU regulation came into effect in February 2005 to provide basic rights to refreshments, phone calls, refunds and, most importantly, an obligation on carriers to inform travellers of their rights.

Unfortunately, the regulation does not hold water.

When I had to endure a five-and-a-half hour delay on a flight last October, the airline afforded none of those rights we were not offered as much as a cup of tea, let alone the opportunity to phone someone and say we had been delayed, or the option to abandon our journey and get a full refund.

I complained to the airline and to the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) when the airline did not entertain the complaint. Five months later, I received a reply from the CAR stating that the airline did not have to provide refreshments as it would "cause a further delay" and that they did not believe any other parts of my claim.

If airlines can deny passengers' rights by claiming they will cause further delay, then the regulations are not worth the paper they are printed on.

Thomas Ralph

7 Hazelwood Drive

Glanmire

Co Cork