Opposition DK calls for stricter airline consumer protection rules

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) is set to initiate the tightening of consumer protection rules for airlines both at a national and EU level after repeated incidents of airlines mishandling luggage and poor communication with passengers, a DK lawmaker said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference, Lajos Oláh noted two recent incidents where Irish low-cost airline Ryanair had deliberately left some passengers’ bags off their Canary Islands-bound flights. Meanwhile, other airlines often fail to inform their passengers about delays, he said.

These kinds of practices are “unacceptable” in the long run, Oláh said, adding that they could not be rectified by paying passengers “a couple hundred euros” in compensation.

When they sell their tickets, the airlines enter into a contract with their customers “which they then deliberately violate”, Oláh said.

DK will look into the current consumer protection laws, and if they do not guarantee enough protections for passengers, the party will propose one that mandates that suitcases that are left off a certain flight have to be sent to their owners as soon as possible, even if it means using a different airline, Oláh said.

He said DK has asked the national consumer protection authority to investigate the recent incidents.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/BudapestAirport

Source: MTI