Airlines that cancel flights must offer seats on rival carrier

Regulator has given UK airlines six months to comply with EU legislation

Airlines have been told they must offer stranded passengers flights on rival carriers. The aviation watchdog is clamping down on carriers who flout EU law when they cancel flights.

If an airline cannot get customers to their destination within a reasonable time, they should pay for space on a competitor’s flight, but many are failing to do so. Flights departing within the EU and on European airlines are governed by EC Regulation 261, which states that passengers with cancelled flights are entitled to “re-routing under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity.”

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has written to the leading UK carriers to remind them that they’re required to re-route passengers on the same day. It says that airlines should use other carriers, or alternative routes, airports or means of travel if that’s not possible. The regulator has given airlines until June 30, 2019, to comply before it takes enforcement action.

News Source: Inews