The head of the Civil Aviation Authority has reinforced a plea for the regulator to be granted stronger powers to support consumers.
Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the CAA, made the call against a backdrop of ongoing airport disruption as the summer peak holiday period starts.
He told an audience at the Farnborough Airshow that the pandemic coupled with the current disruption “has highlighted that consumers’ expectations, and indeed the media’s, for what the CAA can do to protect passengers’ interests are running ahead of what is currently within the CAA’s authority to deliver, not least in a timely way.
“That is why we have consistently asked for, and the government has indicated that it supports, strengthened consumer powers for the CAA.”
He added: “There is nothing revolutionary here: we simply seek equivalent levels of authority to what is already available to other regulators in the UK with similar responsibilities to look after consumers’ interests.”
Sir Stephen insisted that the CAA is “acutely conscious” of the impact on consumers from the current disruption to air travel, “and you will have seen the support and interventions that we have been making to help address the situation, working with government and the sector.
“But the importance of ensuring that aviation safety and security is not affected by this disruption remains at the forefront of our minds; and I know that’s a view held by everyone, across the sector.”
His comments came as the CAA and competition watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a joint open letter to airlines reminding them of their obligations in the face of flight cancellations.
Rocio Concha, policy and advocacy director at consumer group Which?, said: “It’s good to see regulators setting out their concerns and raising the prospect of enforcement action, but we know they have limited powers to effectively hold airlines to account when they break the rules.
“Passengers need the CAA to be more proactive in its approach to enforcement. To help with that the government must give the aviation regulator powers to fine airlines directly when they step out of line.
“The government should also drop misguided plans to cut passenger compensation for domestic flights, which risk encouraging bad practices highlighted by the regulators, such as overselling tickets.”