BA flight horror and the need for a passenger rights bill

The mishap on British Airways Riyadh-to-London flight on Wednesday (Aug. 7) brought into sharp focus the need for a bill for passenger rights in our region, similar to the EU protection regime. Arab News reported on its front-page on Saturday how a Heathrow-bound flight was twice aborted after takeoff because of faulty wing flaps, and was forced to return to Riyadh airport.
According to reports by Arab News and British papers, passengers complained that they were left in the dark about the flight’s status and left without assistance for a long time. They demand compensation.
Despite the long delays and the twice-grounded flight, passengers were unsure whether they would be compensated for their ordeal. Arab News headline “Compensation ‘unlikely’ for Riyadh-London flight horror” summarized the dilemma many passengers face when dealing with such a situation.
The airline said in a statement that it did all it could to help passengers, but it is doubtful that many were satisfied with the treatment they received.
The mishap, as reported, highlighted several problems that air passengers often face: First, lack of clarity about what was happening and how the carrier planned to fix the problem. Second, assistance was not forthcoming, as the ground crews disappeared, and some passengers had to find their own accommodations. Third, during the long delay, passengers were uncertain when they would fly to their destination. Then there was the issue of compensation for all the trouble passengers went through: Who would pay for their lost vacation time, hotel bookings, activities they were planning to have during the Eid holidays, and the pain and aggravation they went through?
Airlines, like many businesses, are as good as they have to be. If they are not required by law or treaty to provide a certain service, assistance or compensation, they are not likely to offer them. Even when the law requires assistance or compensation, they may try to use loopholes to get out of doing
so. Unfortunately, there is little that passengers can do in the absence of clear regulations and vigorous enforcement action by national and regional authorities. Common airline conventions, such as the Montreal Convention, are notorious for being difficult to understand or enforce. They seem to be designed by airlines, for airlines.
This state of affairs explains, partly, the cavalier way in which some airlines deal with customer complaints. BA in particular has been subject to complaints in recent years regarding its customer service.
Limited legal protection under international conventions has led many governments to move forcefully to provide additional protection to air passengers. One of me most rigorous regimes is that of the European Union.
Currently, air passenger rights in the EU include:
• Right to Information during all stages of travel: Passengers have the right to be correctly informed of the ticket price, their rights and the circumstances of their journey in a timely and relevant manner before the journey as well as during and after the travel in case of disruption.
• In the event of long delayed, canceled travel or denied boarding, passengers have the right to the reimbursement of the full ticket price.
• In the event of long delayed, canceled travel or denied boarding, passengers have the right to receive an alternative service of transport, as soon as possible, or to rebook at their best convenience. The choice must be offered by the carrier as soon as the disruption takes place, in a clear and uncontroversial way.
• Stranded passengers have the right to be provided a minimum level of care immediately, on the spot at terminals/stations and/or on board while waiting for the beginning or the continuation of the delayed journey or for their rerouting.
• Under certain conditions in case of long delayed or canceled travel and always in case of denied boarding, passengers are entitled to a standardized financial compensation for the trouble suffered. Such compensation varies for each mode according to the time lost due to the disruption, the distance of the journey and/or the ticket price.
• Passengers have the right to lodge a complaint with the carrier if dissatisfied. In case of lack of answer after a certain time-limit, or dissatisfaction with the carriers’ answer, they have the right to lodge a complaint within the competent national enforcement body, which should treat it with, in a reasonable time-frame. Out of court and court procedures are also available under EU and national law.
• All passengers have equal access to transport and are in particular protected against discrimination based on nationality, residence or disability.
This bill of rights has provided air passengers with protection when traveling within the EU. It has gone through several transformations and is currently under review. Even in its current version, it has made intra-EU travel more predictable and airlines more forthcoming with assistance and compensation, as you may have noticed when traveling in Europe.
Travelers in Saudi Arabia, and the GCC as a whole, would benefit significantly if we were to develop a similar regime of protection for air travel. Without it, air travelers will remain at the mercy of carriers and their one-sided dispute-resolution mechanisms.

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