Test Achats, the Belgian consumer protection agency, has registered a 30% increase in complaints related to air travel since the start of the novel Coronavirus pandemic, the consumer association reported on Friday.
So far Test Achats has registered over 20,000 complaints, mainly against Ryanair (26.6%), TUI (21.1%) and Brussels Airlines (17.7%).
Consumers continue to experience problems as air travel is again authorised in some European countries, Test Achats noted. Many people also want to cancel their flights, mainly for fear of infection.
Some airlines are still refusing to reimburse passengers whose flights have been cancelled and vouchers take a long time to arrive, “even though the law is clear and should therefore be applied correctly by the airlines,” the association stressed.
Recently, Test Achats has also been receiving complaints about attractive prices which are cancelled within a very short time, sometimes just minutes after the reservation is confirmed.
Companies then try to force a voucher on travellers instead of fulfilling their obligation to reimburse them promptly or propose an alternative flight at no extra cost, added Test Achats, which denounced these as “unacceptable practices.”
It called on the government to quickly conduct the investigation announced by Communication Minister Nathalie Muylle.
The Brussels Times
