British air passengers suffer as airlines wrongfully reject more and more compensation claims

AirHelp research exposes a flight compensation merry-go-round as the number of flight compensation claims that are rejected on wrongful grounds increase.

• 58% of valid claims rejected on wrongful grounds
• Ryanair rejects 98.5% of valid compensation claims, 8% more than it did in 2018
• easyJet rejects 87% of valid compensation claims
• 60% of UK passengers do not trust airlines to handle compensation claims fairly** 
• AirHelp empowers millions of people around the world to claim flight disruption compensation from airlines

LONDON Thursday 5th December, 2019: Less than 2% of Ryanair passengers who submit a valid claim for compensation will receive the compensation they are entitled to in the first instance. 

A 2019 investigation of the wrongful rejection of compensation claims* by AirHelp, the world’s leading air passenger rights organisation, also reveals easyJet rejects 87.3% of claims that have been identified as eligible and Virgin Atlantic, 73.7%. The former airline (easyJet) also ranked the second lowest performing operator in the world (71/72) in AirHelp’s annual Score Report.

Under EU law EC261, if a flight is delayed by more than three hours, cancelled, or in an instance of denied boarding, passengers are entitled to financial compensation of up to 600EUR (approx. £530) per person if the cause of the disruption was in the airline’s control. 

In 2018, British Airways rejected 42% of valid compensation claims, compared to 66.6% in 2019 (an increase of 58%). This revelation adds to a long list of woes for passengers of the airline. BA passengers have experienced one of its most disruptive years to date; I.T. glitches caused mass cancellations and delays, the threat of strike action left thousands in turmoil, and to add misery to the mix, the airline also told the wrong passengers they needed to re-book their flights leading to a chaotic customer service mishap. Data shows an average of 170 British Airways flights were disrupted each day during the summer months.

Paloma Salmeron, air passenger rights expert at AirHelp, said: “Yet again research shows airlines aren’t playing fair, it is little wonder two-in-three passengers give up after their initial claim was rejected. AirHelp’s investigation into the claims handling by airlines exposes their blatant attempt to shirk their legal responsibility and reveals how much support passengers need to exercise their rights.

“It is wildly unfair for airlines to reject compensation claims as a tactic to avoid giving passengers what is rightfully theirs. On average, airlines have rejected over 30% more claims this year, than in 2018. EC261 is in place to empower passengers and should not be used by airlines as smoke and mirrors allowing them to shirk their legal responsibility.”

Of the airlines investigated, Tunisair rejected the highest amount of claims in the first instance (99.9%), followed by Vueling (99.9%) – a 35% increase compared to 2018 – and Ernest Airline (99.9%). 

Salmeron continues: “28.9 million passengers have been affected by flight disruption in the UK in 2019, thousands of whom will now be embroiled in legal battles and are continuing to face an impossible struggle to claim the money they’re entitled to. With an alarming 85% of UK passengers unaware of their rights, AirHelp will continue to educate and give the resources and knowledge they need to ensure the law is working in their favour.

“If passengers believe their claim has been wrongfully rejected by an airline, our advice is not to give up. Passengers should keep hold off all travel documents as these are crucial if their claim needs to be escalated with legal assistance. Affected travellers should also note that they have three years following a flight disruption to file a claim.” 

-ENDS-

About AirHelp

AirHelp is the world’s largest organization specializing in air passenger rights, helping travelers get compensation for delayed or canceled flights and in instances of denied boarding. The company also takes legal and political action to support the growth and enforcement of air passenger rights worldwide. AirHelp has aided more than 16 million people, is available in 35 countries and has more than 750 employees.

To find out more, visit: https://www.airhelp.com/en-gb/

Methodology

*Wrongful rejection: % of normal claims (no legal assistance) that were identified to be eligible and got rejected by airlines after first assessment.
AirHelp analysed hundreds of thousands of its own claims. 1st January – 31st October of each year – threshold: min 1000 claims sent