Due to the current crisis, many passengers have had their flights canceled. European regulations stipulate that in the event of a flight cancellation, the airline company is " bound to offer the consumer first choice, reimbursement of the ticket within seven days " and this at the price at which it was purchased. However, faced with almost total traffic halt, the vast majority of airlines - at least 76 of them - opted for a credit system. They offer their passengers, rather than reimbursing them, a voucher for a later trip. A process pinned down by the UFC - Que Choisir, which explains that these assets are of variable geometry according to countries and companies.
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Raphaël Bartlomé, the head of the UFC's legal service, recalls that a passenger who had planned to travel on a given date may no longer want to travel a few months later. He adds that as a result of the crisis, some airlines, particularly low cost, may have gone bankrupt by then, because of their race for growth to be viable. In fact, the money paid by a passenger who buys a ticket is actually used to finance the cost of flights already flown. A race that shows its limits.
The UFC - Que Choisir advocates for the creation of a guarantee fund as there are for stays purchased in travel agencies. It recalls that the advisability of a postponement or a credit note is only one of the possibilities and that this choice should not be imposed on the consumer who must be able to obtain immediate reimbursement of his ticket.