Airbus
© PA Wire/PA ImagesAn Airbus A320-214 owned and operated by Aer Lingus
IRELAND is one of 12 countries that have put their names to a letter calling on the European Commission to change the rules on refunds for cancelled airline flights.

It comes after both Ryanair and Aer Lingus refused to comment last week when asked if they were lobbying the Government to have the rules changed.

The joint letter, which is also signed by the governments in France and the Netherlands, points out that European Commission Regulation 261/2004 and "its obligation to reimburse cancelled tickets in cash, if the passenger so decides, places airlines in a difficult situation where they are facing a serious cash flow challenge".


Comment: Are citizens not facing 'serious cash flow challenges'?


The letter calls for the rules to be changed temporarily to allow airlines to issue vouchers instead of refunds.

The joint letter states:

"We believe that regulating the temporary issuance of vouchers is possible and acceptable for consumers, if some key principles are taken into account: transparent information to the passenger, non-discrimination, a common length of voucher validity, maximum flexibility of use and a clear right of reimbursement immediately at the end of validity in the event of non-use of vouchers."

Other countries behind the request are Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Poland and Portugal.

But the EU's transport commissioner, Adina Valean, told Euronews that she thought such a move was a bad idea.

"It's not an option for me," she said.

"I don't think that this is the right path. I think companies have to put their energy and thinking into making the vouchers more attractive if they want to use mainly this instrument, but allow passengers to exercise their right to be reimbursed."

It comes after Ryanair again changed its refunds policy for cancelled flights.

It now says passengers who accept a voucher instead of a refund can exchange the voucher for cash if it is not used within 12 months.

The airline had initially said it would offer refunds to passengers after it cancelled thousands of flights.

But it enraged its customers who had applied for refunds when it wrote to them last week offering vouchers for flights that were cancelled due to the virus.

These people had understood their refund applications were being processed by the airline. They were enraged to be offered vouchers instead of refunds.

Yesterday Ryanair sent out more emails telling customers that they had previously received an email "with a voucher code to the value of your original booking".

It said the voucher is valid for 12 months "and can be used for your future travel plans".

Under EU Regulation 261/2014, airlines must offer passengers on cancelled flights the choice of a refund within seven days, or a re-routing.

Last week the Commission for Aviation Regulation regulator said airlines were offering vouchers for later use with that airline instead of a refund upon cancellation.

The commission said: "In accordance with Regulation EC 261/2004, passengers have the right to choose a refund of the ticket price paid when their flight is cancelled.

"Airlines are entitled to offer vouchers to passengers. Passengers can choose to accept a voucher but are under no obligation to do so."

The regulation requires an airline to pay a refund within seven days when this option is chosen, the Commission for Aviation Regulation said.

In a statement, Ryanair said the process time for cash refunds is taking longer due to the fact it is having to process 10,000 times the usual volume of cancellations and has fewer staff available due to social distancing measures.