Five international airlines are in hot seats of the EU as the investigation of the Civil Aviation Authority found that they are breaching European law by not giving compensation to their passengers who've experienced flight delays. These airlines in particular are American, Etihad, Emirates, Singapore, and Turkish Airlines.
Regardless of the airlines' nationality, they are still bound by the said law if they are flying in and out of the EU. When talked to by the CAA, each airline has admitted to the said accusation.
Under European law, every passenger who has experienced flight delay for more than three hours are entitled to a cash compensation ranging from €400 to €600. This also includes on all flights from the EU with a distance of over 3,500 km, even connecting flights.
In a statement made by Richard Moriarty, director of consumers and markets at the CAA: "Any disruption to a flight is frustrating for passengers, but delays that cause people to miss connecting flights have a particularly damaging effect on people's travel plans. That's why there are clear laws in place to make sure passengers that experience this type of disruption are looked after by their airline and compensated when the disruption was in the airline's control."
But out of all the airlines in question, Emirates was shown to be the most complained airline in terms of not giving out necessary customer compensation. It was shown in the complaint data of the CAA.
In response to this, an Emirates spokesperson said: "As one of the world's largest airlines, we comply with all legal requirements and regulations as set by the relevant authorities. The way in which the CAA has communicated this issue is both misleading and unprofessional."
"We will rigorously defend our position, and challenge the blanket application of EC 261 to every situation, without consideration of context or the safety of our passengers," it adds.
"We do everything possible to ensure that any disruption caused to our passengers is minimized. In the event of flight delays or cancellations, we always ensure that our customers are looked after."
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