The boss of On the Beach has backed stronger powers for the Civil Aviation Authority, claiming “hefty fines” for airlines would help solve the problems of cancellations and delayed refunds.
Simon Cooper, chief executive of the online retailer, made his comments in response to the joint open letter from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and CAA to airlines.
The aviation and competition regulators warned they could take enforcement action if airlines don’t tackle the problems of flight cancellations this summer, after several months of disruption at airports.
Cooper said: “We’ve said before and we’ll say again: the way some of the airlines are treating their customers with late cancellations and delayed refunds is a disgrace.
“While this joint letter is a step in the right direction, placing the emphasis on the airlines to sort their mess out is clearly not working.
“As the aviation regulator, the CAA must be given the power and tools to enforce the rules and hold airlines who are blatantly ignoring the law, to account.
“The chaos has to stop. I’d take a guess that if hefty fines were handed out to airlines who break the law, we’d see consumers getting a much better experience.
“We’ve been vocal about the crazy amount of power some of these airlines have over hard-working people, and it’s because there is no competition on some routes and airlines can abuse their power at will, seemingly with zero consequence.
“Industry reform is absolutely critical and it needs to happen now. The CMA must step up, police the industry properly and prioritise a market review.”
His calls echo those of Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the CAA, who also spoke about the need to strengthen the regulator’s consumer powers.
“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,” said Sir Stephen.
More: CAA chief calls for stronger powers to tackle impact of airport disruption