Coronavirus blockages forced most flights to remain immobilized (representational)
Paris:
Airlines are crying out for help from customers because they have to reimburse customers for flights canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic which could starve them of money, the industry said on Wednesday.
“We are asking for help from passengers … it’s true, and we are doing it on our knees,” said the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac on the TV channel and French radio station BFM Business.
The coronavirus closings have forced most flights to stay on the ground and air travel is slowly recovering, putting airlines in dire straits.
Airlines operating flights to and from Europe are expected to reimburse passengers for flights canceled within two weeks under EU law, but with the support of France and some In many other countries, airlines offer coupons or force customers to wait sometimes much longer for their money. back.
Consumer groups have launched a scandal and the European Commission has opened proceedings against 10 EU member states, including France, for failing to apply the regulations.
De Juniac said the industry is still trying to convince the European Commission to allow it to use vouchers or give it more time to reimburse passengers.
“Why are we asking this? Not for fun. Our job is more to pamper passengers than to cause them problems, especially financial ones,” he explained.
But “airline cash is in an apocalyptic situation,” he added.
IATA said last month that it expects global airlines to suffer $ 84 billion in losses this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While few have gone bankrupt so far, airlines have started laying off tens of thousands of workers and several countries have stepped in to help or rescue carriers.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
