AIRLINE CANCELLED YOUR FLIGHT-what are your rights? Events of March took everyone by surprise with the speed at which the coronavirus changed the world around us.

Anyone who had flights booked in early March for later in the year probably didn’t think they had a problem. Then all the airlines started shutting down.

The initial information from airlines generally stated that flights up to a certain date would be refunded and flights booked after a certain date could be given a credit voucher for a 12-month period. Some airlines did allow for refund, but they were few in number.

People could still cancel their flights with the airline but that would involve high fees for the cancellations in line with the airlines policies. Airline policies on passenger cancellations are complex and varied between airlines. Generally, however, they cost passengers a large part of their ticket price. 

Cancellation policies are written from the airlines point of view for circumstances where the passenger wants to cancel. When the Airline cancels things are different although the airlines policies generally don’t recognise this difference fairly.

An airline cancelling a flight for the usual reason of bad weather, faulty airplane will usually result in a refund when the airline can not make good the arrangement to convey the passenger to their destination. But when you miss your connecting flight because your flight was delayed no refund there.

The ACCC has the following to say on the issue:

All your usual consumer rights apply when you purchase domestic flights and international flights departing Australia. Those rights also apply to international flights to Australia where they are booked through the Australian website of an airline.

Services such as flights come with automatic guarantees, including that services must be supplied within a reasonable time.

If something goes wrong, and your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to a refund or replacement depending on the circumstances, including:

 the length of the delay

• the reason for the delay or cancellation
• whether the airline was able to place you on another flight within a reasonable time.

Note: what constitutes a reasonable time will depend on the circumstances and may not be the same each time you travel.

The key here is that the services must be supplied in a reasonable time. For those who are happy to hold a credit for 12 months that’s fine, but you need to be aware that if prices are higher when you try to book you will end up paying the difference.

So, the best thing to do might be get a refund. Those who paid by credit card are in the best position. All you must do is contact your credit card provider and initiate a chargeback process. This will result in a refund quite quickly. It is important to note that you must ask for a refund from the company first before asking your credit card provider for the refund. If you booked through a travel agent, you need to tackle them first and then go to your credit card provider-assuming you paid with a credit card of course.