Delayed and canceled flights: 60 percent more airline complaints

Dusseldorf Airport

Thousands of flights had to be canceled this summer, mainly due to staff shortages at airports and airlines.

(Photo: dpa)

Berlin Canceled flights cause the number of complaints to the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) to skyrocket. This emerges from data from the authority (as of November 30, 2022), which is available to the Handelsblatt.

This year, the LBA received 2,243 complaints (2021: 1,430 complaints) about airlines. Of these, 743 (2021: 946) passengers complained about breaches of the statutory seven-day refund period for canceled flights.

This summer, airports and airlines canceled thousands of flights, mainly due to staff shortages.

Despite the many complaints, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt has only imposed a manageable number of fines on airlines. According to the information, this happened in 25 cases in which ticket costs for canceled flights were not repaid on time.

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According to the authority, there were 127 decisions in the previous year. The LBA did not provide any information on the amount of the fines and the airlines affected. In Germany, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt is the official enforcement and complaints body for passenger rights.

Consumer advocates question the prepayment principle

The number of fines due to flight ticket refunds not being paid in a timely manner is also at a low level. According to the authorities, 189 procedures were initiated this year and 476 procedures in 2021.

air traffic

Passengers can request a refund for cancellations.

(Photo: dpa)

The arbitration board for public transport (SÖP) feels the annoyance of many travelers about delayed or canceled flights. This year, 23,607 consumers contacted the SÖP because of flight cancellations or delays, more than twice as many as in the previous year (11,736).

Most cases were received between August and November. Because there are often several weeks or even months between the respective travel event and the complaint, from the point of view of the arbitration board this primarily reflects the summer travel season.

In view of the increase in complaints, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) is calling for the practice of travelers having to pay for their flight tickets at the time of booking, often months in advance, to be reviewed.

>> Read also: 28,000 requests for arbitration – anger about air and rail travel triggers a flood of complaints

“The unfair advance payment practice for flight tickets must be changed,” said VZBV mobility expert Marion Jungbluth the Handelsblatt. “So that the passenger does not have to bear the risk of airline insolvency due to the advance payment, a maximum of one advance payment is justified when booking the flight to balance the interests of both parties.”

ECJ strengthens passengers’ rights in the case of delayed connecting flights

Jungbluth also demanded a safeguard for prepaid customer money in the event that an airline should slide into bankruptcy. “The federal government must make adjustments here and legally oblige airlines to take out insolvency insurance in favor of prepaid customer funds,” she said. “This is how it has been handled with providers of package tours across Europe for over twenty years.”

The Greens are critical of changes to advance payments. “The prepayment principle plays a certain role in the ability to plan flights,” said the transport policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group, Stefan Gelbhaar, the Handelsblatt. “It is more effective to significantly improve the compensation rules for passengers.”

In the future, compensation for air travelers must be digital, automated and unbureaucratic in order to have a real impact. “The amount of compensation must also be checked and adjusted,” said Gelbhaar.

After all, there is already an improvement for passengers in the event of delayed flights – thanks to a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In October, the judges ruled that passengers can also claim compensation if a trip consists of several flights and these were operated by different companies.

There is no need for a special legal relationship between the companies, as long as a travel agency combines the flights, charges a total price and issues a single ticket.

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