The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating whether airlines have breached consumers’ rights by refusing to offer cash refunds for flights they could not lawfully take.
The investigation will look at situations where airlines continued to operate flights despite people being unable lawfully to travel for non-essential purposes.
The CMA says it is aware that in some cases where flights were not cancelled customers were not offered refunds even though they could not lawfully travel.
In a statement, the CMA said: “The CMA recognises that the airlines sector, like many others, is under strain due to the pandemic. However, it is concerned that certain airlines may have breached consumers’ legal rights by failing to offer cash refunds, leaving people unfairly out of pocket, and has therefore opened an investigation to examine the matter further.”
