KLM faces legal action for ash cloud pay-out
KLM has been threatened with legal action by the European Union after refusing to pay full compensation to passengers stranded during the ash cloud disruption.
The airline said it has restricted payments to just one night’s accommodation to ensure a quick resolution for its thousands of customers across Europe.
But under EU regulations, passengers are entitled to claim reasonable expenses on meals and accommodation for the whole time they are stranded.
In some cases, passengers were stranded for a week or more and are therefore claiming thousands of pounds.
Other European airlines have complied with the ruling, including British Airways and easyJet.
The EU has sent the airline a formal warning and said if its does not comply with the rules, it could face legal action.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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