Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the level of compliance by airlines with article 8 of EC Regulation 261/2004, that requires those companies to provide a full refund to passengers booked on cancelled flights within seven days if requested.

The Civil Aviation Authority are responsible for enforcing European Regulation 261/2004, and have been clear that airlines should not systematically deny consumers their right to a refund. On 1 July 2020 the Civil Aviation Authority provided an update on its website about its review into the refund policies of airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. They are reviewing the refund policies of all UK airlines, as well as a number of international airlines that operate flights to and from the UK. The review is considering how airlines are handling refunds for flight-only bookings during the COVID-19 pandemic.