Compensation plan unveiled for flight delays, cancellations
Airline passengers in Australia whose flights are delayed or cancelled could soon get greater protections – although they’re still unlikely to receive any financial compensation.
The federal government has launched public consultation for an aviation consumer protection scheme, which would nationalise standards for passenger entitlements when flights don’t leave as scheduled.
The scheme would impose a minimum level of assistance for what airlines would be required to give affected passengers.
Among the options being considered are refunds, access to food or accommodation or a quick re-booking to a similar flight.
But Transport Minister Catherine King said a European-style scheme offering financial compensation to affected passengers would be unlikely.
“In Europe, there is a compensation scheme that is, of course, defrayed across millions of passengers and hundreds of airlines. We’ve got a much smaller market,” she told ABC TV on Monday.
“We’ve got the balance right here, making sure people get immediate remedies to rectify the situation that they’re in, rather than the European scheme.”
Minimum standards as part of the scheme would also include the information shared with passengers when a flight is booked or when people check in, as well as how airports should manage complaints.
The consumer scheme will also include standards for airlines when baggage is lost and what is offered to passengers.
King said the standards would be accompanied by an ombudsman scheme and a regulator.
The ombudsman scheme would help customers who are unable to resolve complaints directly with an airline.
King said the changes would ensure airlines raised their game when passengers were affected by travel delays.
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“This is about is lifting the standards overall to make sure passengers get a much better experience when they’re travelling,” she said.
“We’ve certainly seen, post-Covid, it’s taken a while for airlines and airports to really get back up to speed, and the customer experience, as we know, hasn’t been as good as it could be.”
Consultations on the scheme are expected to run for the next month.
-AAP
