TSC call for evidence on airlines and airports recovery - Which? response

Summary

Which? welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Transport Select Committee’s call for evidence on its inquiry on airports and airlines’ recovery from the pandemic. Consumer confidence in the aviation industry is central to its recovery and growth. We urge the Committee to ensure this inquiry takes account of the consumer experience with the industry and examines ways in which unlawful business conduct has harmed consumers and their trust in the sector. To build long-term consumer confidence in the industry, the Government should conduct a thorough review of the protections available to consumers and ensure that robust enforcement measures are in place to deter non compliance and hold to account airlines that break consumer law. We therefore encourage the Committee to:

1. Review airlines’ handling of passenger refunds during the pandemic and the systemic causes and lessons to be learnt.
2. Review government plans and preparedness for the lateral flow devices (LFD) market and the impact on consumers.
3. Ensure the Government designs an ambitious, long-term vision for the travel sector that addresses the evident gaps in consumer protections and the enforcement system
4. Launch a consumer-focused inquiry to look at the failures to safeguard rights in the aviation and holiday sectors and how to rebuild consumer confidence in the industry.

Whilst it is encouraging to see the Committee look to long-term recovery of the sector, we are disappointed that this inquiry does not seek to examine the consumer experience with the travel sector during the pandemic and government and regulators’ failure to safeguard passengers rights.

From the refund crisis to the more recent problems with the private testing market, passengers have been left significantly out of pocket, faced difficulty having their consumer rights upheld and confidence in the sector has fallen. Therefore, successful and sustainable recovery of the industry, and more widely of the UK’s post-pandemic economic recovery, cannot happen without considering the treatment of consumers and restoring their long-term confidence in the industry.

In this view, we urge the Transport Select Committee to launch a specific consumer-focused inquiry to ensure that the passenger experience in aviation is taken into account and to thoroughly assess the failures of the consumer enforcement system and gaps in consumer protections that are in need of urgent government intervention.