The government intends to push ahead with plans to enhance the powers of the Civil Aviation Authority to take enforcement action against airlines which breach consumer rights.
The Department for Transport (DfT) consulted on reforming aviation consumer policy and protecting air passenger rights, including the enhancement of CAA powers, early this year.
The government has already granted the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enhanced powers to rule on breaches of consumer law and impose fines.
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Ben Smith, aviation director at the DfT, told the Airlines 2022 conference in London on Monday: “We want to ensure there is consumer confidence in the aviation sector particularly as we come out of Covid – to ensure consumers have confidence the products they pay for will be delivered.”
He argued: “There are problems in a small number of areas.”
CAA chief executive Richard Moriarty insisted “The CAA needs more powers in the area of consumer redress. It can take us years to get redress against airlines and that does not make sense.
“Our powers are outdated compared to other regulators.”
Moriarty argued: “Just bring us into line with the updated powers of others. I don’t see these powers being used often.”
UK Airlines chief executive Tim Alderslade suggested the industry could be relaxed about the move, saying: “I have no worries about a CAA power grab. The CAA dealt excellently with the issues that came up over refunds [during the pandemic].”
Smith also argued the industry responded to the lifting of Covid travel restrictions “in a pretty magnificent way”.
He said: “Bringing everything back wasn’t straightforward or easy. There were a range of people struggling in different ways – not just airports, not just airlines and not just ground handlers.
“The second half of the summer felt much better. From the government’s perspective, we saw the industry working closely together to solve the problems.”
Moriarty agreed, saying: “There was short notice of the removal of restrictions. The industry had to come back very quickly and there were problems. I’m hoping they were the transitional issues of getting back to normal rather than anything more structural.”
He argued: “Let’s just focus on the consumer, on growth and on sustainability.”
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, responded: “Travellers have often been treated appallingly by airlines, with operators routinely ignoring their legal obligations on refunds during the pandemic and requirements to look after passengers, reroute them or pay compensation during the chaos at UK airports earlier this year.
“Which? has led the campaign for reform of long-standing flaws in a system where regulators have no meaningful powers to crack down on airlines that flout the law.
“It’s vital that the government moves forward urgently with plans to enhance the Civil Aviation Authority’s powers, including the ability to directly fine airlines.
“The regulator must be prepared to use these powers to send a clear message that breaching consumer law will not be tolerated.”
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