“We have been waiting for our refund for 3 years, for a trip canceled due to Covid. Although I call every week, they constantly tell me that my refund will arrive,” Julie B denounces on social networks.
“We are at a dead end, we no longer know what to do, Jacky, a customer of the TAP Air Portugal company who declared to our RMC colleagues, despairs. We are short of almost 2,100 euros, we did not have the service and it seems normal for me to be refunded”. Two examples among others.
However, the airlines had promised from the bottom of their hearts. In the spring of 2020, as the wave of Covid swept across Europe, prompting strict lockdowns and travel bans, they ensured that tickets for thousands of canceled flights would be refunded ruby on the nail. By October 2021, sixteen European companies had recommitted, through the press, to reimburse all their passengers within 7 days.
We were talking then, globally, of 35 billion dollars in tickets sold to be refunded in the second quarter of 2020 alone. With revenues in free fall, companies were reluctant to refund quickly, some preferring to distribute assets with the blessing of the European Commission. “A matter of survival for companies,” then justified IATA, the international air transport association.
In reality, the operators had to comply with the European regulation 261/2004 according to which customers whose flight has been canceled must “have the possibility of having their ticket refunded or of obtaining a change of route under satisfactory conditions”.
Airlines have turned the page on Covid
If the argument could be heard in 2020-2021, it has been much less so since 2022 with the robust recovery in global air traffic. It still is, at least in view of the tens of billions of euros in public aid that have been poured into large companies to prevent their bankruptcy.
As a result, due to the reluctance of several companies, legal disputes multiply. And the injured clients are numerous. In France, no less than 7,561 passengers have used the services of specialist lawyer Joyce Pitcher. “This represents almost 6 million euros in refunds claimed from the airlines by this lawyer alone,” she explains in a press release.
Above all, the disputes affect large companies, in particular those that had promised a full refund in 7 days: “Thai Airways, Alitalia (now called ITA), Norwegian, TAP, Tunisair, Air Madagascar, Air Algérie, Royal Air Maroc or even British Airways”, lists the lawyer.
3.2 million euros recovered
Specifically, of the 7,561 passengers for which it is responsible, 5,877 had to go to court after a friendly rapprochement that did not bear fruit, obstructing the Aulnay-Sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) court, a reference for Charles De Gaulle airport. To the point of having to organize two hearing mornings a month, dedicated exclusively to these cases, for the last two years.
In addition to having to go to court to obtain the refund that is owed to him, the lawyer denounces the multiple obstacles and maneuvers of certain companies to avoid or delay the returns.
“Airlines have implemented various strategies to try to limit their costs. In particular, the latter rushed to reimburse travel agencies as soon as legal proceedings were opened, in order to then try not to have to pay legal costs,” she said.
“Some even question having to reimburse these canceled flights, such as the Royal Air Maroc company. Others do not execute the decisions of the courts or do not respect the agreements concluded between lawyers to end the processes, ”he explains.
organized insolvency
“This is the case, among others, of the Thai Airways company, which currently leaves nearly 400 files unreimbursed, despite the decisions taken against it. This forces the passengers to turn to the bailiffs to enforce the decisions, and to bear the costs and especially the risks, “he continues.
Others “now organize their bankruptcy to gain more and more time despite hundreds of convictions. Others have even decided to “simulate” their bankruptcy to try to avoid these refunds, such as Alitalia with the creation of ITA or even Norwegian, which, between them, have left almost 500,000 passengers without refund to this day,” says the lawyer.
Note that in the case of Alitalia, the bankruptcy was not “simulated”, the Italian national company running steep deficits over several years which led to its demise before being reborn under the ITA name.
Contacted by BFM Business, IATA did not respond to our requests for comment, as did several airlines. The FNAM (National Federation of Aviation and its Trades) does not pronounce itself but tells us that “its members (the airlines, editor’s note) are well informed of the applicable provisions of Regulation 261/2004.”
“We expect sanctions because the DGAC (General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics) recognizes its inability to be respected,” says Joyce Pitcher.
Nailed down, the DGAC, which is actually in charge of ensuring the application of Regulation 261/2004, defends itself. She “regularly reminded airlines that provide services on French territory that Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 must be applied to flights canceled due to the Covid-19 crisis,” she explains to BFM Business. .
The DGAC imposes sanctions
And to specify: “Based on the individual reports of the passengers, but also on the direct observations that have been carried out, the DGAC has written to the representative organizations of air carriers to remind them of the obligations of their members, among which are which were also summoned by the DGAC or seized by mail to demonstrate the measures adopted to regularize the situation of their clients. The DGAC also intervened directly with 82 airlines that operate on French territory and that have canceled flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
It adds that “in cases of proven infractions, sanctions may also be imposed, in the form of administrative fines, on airlines that do not comply with the obligations of Regulation 261/2004. To date, penalties amounting to 473,500 euros have thus been imposed against 10 companies for breaches of the right to reimbursement and the right to information observed during flights canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Travel agencies also set
But the companies would not be the only culprits, according to Maître Pitcher, who also points out that certain travel agencies have received funds from the airlines to reimburse their clients.
“However, passengers are still not being reimbursed today. This is particularly the case in a large number of cases involving the GoToGate site, which appears to have taken all the funds, and against which new proceedings are being launched.” .
“I got a refund but my partner is hell,” laments Ludovic of our RMC colleagues, who bought the tickets through Expedia, a price comparator. “They never agree, they are not the ones who have to reimburse, it is the company, or vice versa. We are talking about 687 euros and we have not been able to do anything for more than a year ”, he adds.
“I have 1600 euros not refunded after a flight with Royal Air Maroc taken through Opodo almost… 4 years ago. Opodo says that it is Royal Air Maroc that refuses to refund, Royal Air Maroc says that it is Opodo who should reimburse”, laments Alexandre A. in a Facebook group dedicated to disputes with the service provider.
With these harmed clients, Opodo highlights his good faith. “It’s been almost 6 months since we submitted a refund request to the airline for their canceled flight. The airline has not responded to us or offered a solution despite a fair number of reminders from us,” he wrote to a customer.
The government requested
To get things moving, lawyer Joyce Pitcher announces “additional proceedings before the Department of Transport to obtain fines.”
Indeed, Olivia Grégoire, Deputy Minister of Tourism, has promised measures and sanctions to set things in motion. The minister in charge of civil aviation can also impose an administrative fine on an airline that does not comply with the obligations established by the regulations on passenger rights.
Source: BFM TV
