EasyJet and British Airways could be forced to pay compensation to millions of passengers whose flights have been cancelled or delayed, The Mail on Sunday and This is Money can reveal.
A legal battle worth at least £100 million is brewing against the airline giants over disruption relating to more than 100,000 flights from 2016 to 2022.
Current regulation grants passengers up to £520 if their flights are delayed by more than three hours, but this is only paid if passengers contact the airlines directly.
Campaigners fear many are unaware of their right for compensation and that few are taking it up.
The class action aims to make airlines automatically contact and offer compensation to customers whose journeys were affected.
EasyJet, BA, Ryanair and rivals may have to contact customers to tell them they can claim for delays and cancellations rather than leaving them to do it themselves
Legal documents seen by the MoS show that ‘fixed compensation’ is being claimed on behalf of affected passengers.
The case – launched earlier this year and still in its early stages – will pile more pressure on the airline industry after EasyJet scrapped 1,700 flights from July to September, blaming air traffic control delays.
Potential cancellations have caused concern for families preparing to head off on summer holidays, many of whom also grappled with travel chaos last year.
But EasyJet and BA have already hired City law firms to shore up their defences in the legal action, which could take up to three years.
> Your rights if your flight has been cancelled or delayed
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said: ‘While airlines already have a legal responsibility to inform passengers of their rights to compensation and assistance when things go wrong, too often we hear that this is not taking place.
‘That this case needs to be brought at all once again exposes the UK’s feeble passenger rights protections.’
A BA spokesman said: ‘We comply with our obligations under the regulation and don’t believe this claim has a proper legal basis.
‘Customers can submit compensation requests directly to us online or by writing to our customer relations team to receive full payment for eligible claims.’
EasyJet said the case was ‘ill-conceived’, adding it ‘already complies with the applicable law and provides an online claim form where passengers can claim 100 per cent of their compensation’.
