British Airways and easyJet are battling to throw out a landmark legal case that risks forcing airlines to pay out hundreds of millions of pounds to passengers over late flights.
The two carriers have been sued in the High Court over claims they must automatically compensate travellers whose flights are severely delayed or cancelled.
This could potentially lead to a massive overhaul in how passengers are reimbursed for travel chaos, as they will no longer have to submit claims themselves if their trip is disrupted.
Lawyers have identified up to 100,000 flights that were either delayed or cancelled since 2016, potentially landing BA and easyJet with a damages bill of at least £100m.
If successful, the case could also pave the way for vast payouts across the industry, raising the stakes for airlines worst hit by delays and cancellations.
Passengers are entitled to compensation of up to £520 if their flights are delayed by more than three hours but it is then down to them to contact the airlines themselves to make a claim.
This has raised concerns that many travellers are unaware of their rights, with few taking up the opportunity to seek compensation.
BA and easyJet will seek to fight off the case in a two-day court hearing this week. The airlines have argued that the lawsuit is “misconceived” and part of an attempt by lawyers to profit from passengers.
It is expected to reignite discussions over chronic travel disruption, which has been a significant issue ever since the pandemic as staff shortages and air traffic control chaos triggered delays and cancellations.
It comes as families prepare to jet off on their summer holidays, with new figures showing that BA has cancelled more than 4,000 flights from UK airports over the past year – more than double the number of cancellations by easyJet.
After the claim was first launched last year, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which? Rocio Concha said: “While airlines already have a legal responsibility to inform passengers of their rights to compensation and assistance when things go wrong, too often we hear that this is not taking place.
“That this case needs to be brought at all once again exposes the UK’s feeble passenger rights protections.”
BA chief Sean Doyle, who took over in late 2020, has been attempting to overhaul the company.
BA faced fresh scrutiny last month after it was struck by a technical fault across its baggage systems, meaning some passengers were forced to fly without their suitcases while others were delayed for hours.
Both BA and easyJet have instructed City law firms to fight the brewing class action, which is being brought by an individual backed by litigation funders.
An easyJet spokesman said: “Not only do we believe this has no legal or procedural basis, this action is being brought in order to profit by taking a cut from every claim when there are already existing and easy routes for eligible customers to receive 100pc of their compensation.”
A BA spokesman said: “We comply with our obligations under the Regulation. We don’t believe this claim has a proper legal basis – it’s misconceived and therefore along with easyJet we’ve applied to strike it out.
“In any event, we will continue to strongly defend our position. Customers can submit compensation requests directly to us online or by writing to our customer relations team to receive full payment for eligible claims.”
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