21 December 2009

Air passenger protection Ã¢â¬Ëœa patched up messÃ¢â¬â¢

An all-encompassing protection scheme for all airline passengers has been demanded following the failure of the Globespan group.

The plea came from Scottish Passenger Agents Association president Brian Potter in a renewed call for a "speedy and thorough review" of the current, "increasingly ineffectual" consumer financial protection system in the UK.

"We will continue to lobby assertively, the current government, and incoming government of any persuasion, to conduct a speedy, thorough and productive review of the patched-up mess which is our current system of financial protection for consumers," he said.

The Edinburgh-based travel group’s collapse has seen only a minor percentage of its total passenger commitment covered by the Civil Aviation Authority’s ATOL protection scheme, with the vast majority of customers either having to seek credit card company refunds, or facing the prospect of no refund at all.

In detailed submissions in response to consultations undertaken by the Government, CAA and ABTA, the SPAA has consistently suggested practical alternatives, which would see all air passengers fully protected, regardless of their chosen booking method, or which, if any, additional services (such as accommodation) they choose to purchase.

Potter said: "Flyglobespan was awarded holiday airline of the year by our members for good reasons.

"It offered good quality, regional services to Europe and beyond on a low-cost business model, but regrettably, it has been defeated by prevailing economic conditions, and the imposition by government on leisure and business travellers of increasingly onerous taxes and charges - another issue on which the SPAA has, and will continue to voice our concerns.

"We need to have new, coherent and all-encompassing protection for all air passengers, and we need to have it now, before another airline failure lets down and disappoints thousands more leisure and business travellers."

by Phil Davies