Airline passengers will benefit from tougher enforcement of consumer protection laws following an inquiry into the August 2023 air traffic control (ATC) meltdown, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has said.
The Cabinet minister said she wants to ensure “all passengers feel confident when they fly”.
More than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports on August 28 last year after ATC provider National Air Traffic Services (Nats) suffered a technical glitch while processing a flight plan.
An investigation into what happened found a number of travellers waited “many weeks, and in some cases months” for airlines to refund their out-of-pocket expenses.
It recommended that regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is given the power to “take consumer enforcement action” without going through the courts.
This could include the ability to issue fines, which would bring it into line with regulators in some other sectors.
Ms Haigh said: “The Nats IT failure last year was an unprecedented event that we all hope never happens again, so I welcome the final report and its recommendations to strengthen the sector and restore passenger confidence.
“I’ve said before that I will be the passenger-in-chief and my priority is to ensure all passengers feel confident when they fly.
“That’s why my department will look to introduce reforms, when we can, to provide air travellers with the highest level of protection possible.”
The CAA’s inability to issue fines means it is required to take airlines to court if they fail to respond to enforcement action, which means short-term resolutions are unlikely.
Under the Conservative government, in June last year the Department for Transport set out plans to give the CAA “stronger enforcement powers”, but no legislation on the issue was introduced to Parliament.