UK transport secretary Louise Haigh has pledged that airlines will face tougher enforcement of consumer protection laws.
She said the Department for Transport (DfT) will “introduce reforms” to provide airline passengers with the “highest level of protection possible” after a UK Civil Aviation Authority report into the August 2023 air traffic control failures.
The CAA’s review of the incident estimates that more than 700,000 passengers were impacted by flight delays or cancellations.
It found that 300,000 travellers were affected by cancellations, while 95,000 were hit by delays of three hours and a further 300,000 by shorter delays.
Following its review, the CAA has recommended that the government considers legislative changes to bring the authority’s consumer enforcement powers in line with other sectors and make ADR membership mandatory for all airlines operating in the UK.
Jeff Halliwell, chair of the CAA’s independent review panel, said: “The incident on 28 August 2023 represented a major failure on the part of the air traffic control system, which caused considerable distress to over 700,000 aviation passengers, and resulted in substantial costs to airlines and airports.
“Our report sets out a number of recommendations aimed at improving NATS’ operations and, even more importantly, ways in which the aviation sector as a whole should work together more closely to ensure that, if something like this does ever happen again, passengers are better looked after.”
Haigh added that last year’s incident was “unprecedented” and that she “welcomes the final report and its recommendations to strengthen the sector and restore passenger confidence”.
“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,” she said.
NATS, which provides the UK’s air traffic control service, is set to review its contingency and engineering resource management arrangements following the CAA’s report today.
The organisation will also review the possibility of earlier notification to airports and airlines of possible disruption.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at the UK consumer watchdog Which?, said: “The transport secretary has recognised the need for these reforms, and must bring forward new legislation to enhance the Civil Aviation Authority’s powers, ensuring it can issue hefty fines to hold airlines to account when they break the law.
“The regulator must stand ready to use these powers and send a clear message that breaching consumer law will not be tolerated.”
