EU TOP COURT EXPANDS PASSENGER REFUND RIGHTS FOR FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS

LUXEMBOURG, Jan 16 (Bernama-dpa) -- Airlines must reimburse travellers for commissions paid to agents when flights are cancelled, even if the carrier did not know the exact amount of the fee, the European Union’s highest court ruled on Thursday, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The ruling strengthens the rights of passengers who book through online platforms.

It stems from a case in which travellers had purchased flight tickets from Vienna to Lima with the Dutch airline KLM on the Opodo travel agency platform.

When the flight was cancelled, KLM refunded the ticket price but retained around €95 (US$110) that Opodo had charged as an agency fee.

The case reached the Supreme Court in Austria, which referred it to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for clarification.

In a 2018 ruling, the ECJ held that airlines must reimburse third-party agency fees alongside the ticket price, but only if the airline was aware of the commission. 

On Thursday, however, the court said it is irrelevant whether the airline knows the exact amount of the fee. Airlines are required to reimburse the commission if they accept that an agent issues flight tickets on their behalf, the court said.

This commission is an "unavoidable" component of the ticket price and must therefore be regarded as approved by the airline, the ruling said.

The specific case must now be decided by the Austrian courts in accordance with the guidelines from Luxembourg.

--BERNAMA-dpa