In a bid to make air travel experience better for passengers in case of flight disruption, the global airlines body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to consider adopting consumer protection regulations without territorial limitations.
“Airlines are aligned with governments in wanting to get their passengers to their destinations on time. But sometimes that is just not possible. Governments should set some simple guarantees on what passengers should expect in such situations,” IATA chief Tony Tyler said.
He said governments were “turning a blind eye to the problems that they are creating. We want regulators to understand that travelers are our customers. And we want customers to have the best possible experience because our businesses depend on customers coming back.”
IATA endorsed a set of core principles for governments to consider when adopting consumer protection regulation. The core principles included in the resolution addressed a variety of “uncoordinated and extra-territorial passenger rights legislation and regulation that is the cause of confusion among passengers.”
“Being stuck in Europe on a disrupted trip from the United States to Israel is bad enough for a passenger. Regulation shouldn’t worsen the situation by presenting them with a bewildering array of three conflicting passenger rights regimes,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Being stuck in Europe on a disrupted trip from the United States to Israel is bad enough for a passenger. Regulation shouldn’t worsen the situation by presenting them with a bewildering array of three conflicting passenger rights regimes,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}(The reporter’s travel and stay was sponsored by IATA)