Airlines balk at refunds as UK tells travellers not to fly

Bloomberg

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd aren’t offering refunds to passengers who cancel year-end trips because of new UK coronavirus rules, even as regulators investigate airlines’ earlier refusal to hand cash back to customers caught in lockdown.
IAG SA-owned BA will grant ticket holders a voucher or let them switch to a later date, it said in an emailed statement. It said it will only refund fares if the airline cancels a flight, a policy echoed by Virgin Atlantic in a Twitter post.
The refund issue ignited a firestorm when similar curbs were in place last month. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe last week into whether airlines violated consumer rights by failing to offer passengers their money back for flights they couldn’t lawfully take.
“Some airlines like EasyJet have mostly been doing the right thing and offering refunds, while others like BA only offer the option of a voucher or a rebooking,” said Rory Boland, travel editor at consumer advocacy group Which?. “The CMA investigation is looking precisely into this, as the wording for Tier 4 restrictions indicates these are legal requirements, not guidance so you should be due a refund.”
The latest travel rules took effect on Sunday, less than a day after they were announced, catching many with holiday travel plans off-guard.
EasyJet Plc said it would offer refunds. “We understand some customers may now need to change their flights.”
On Twitter, some passengers said Ryanair Holdings Plc and Aer Lingus were refusing refunds.
Aer Lingus responded online by saying it would waive change fees, while not addressing its refund policy. The airline, also owned by IAG, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Irish discounter Ryanair didn’t respond to requests for comment.

New Strain
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the tightening in a bid to stamp out a fast-spreading mutation of the coronavirus that’s behind a a rapid rise in cases in London. Movement in the capital and much of southeast England has been curtailed, including getting on foreign flights.
“People should carefully consider whether they need to travel abroad and follow the rules in their tier,” Johnson said. “Those in Tier 4 areas will not be permitted to travel abroad apart from limited exceptions, such as for work purposes.”
Johnson made it clear that the policy is aimed at stemming holiday interactions that could spread the disease across families and loved ones.
While the flight restrictions will be similar to lockdown rules lifted earlier this month, the exceptions haven’t been clearly defined.
People who live outside the area may transit through Tier 4, which includes Heathrow and Luton airports, “but you should carefully consider whether you need to do so,” according to advice on a government website.
The rise of the new virus strain forced the government into an abrupt policy switch at the height of the Christmas travel season, after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps assured the public last week that so-called travel corridors won’t be switched for the next two weeks to give people certainty about booking holidays.
Some customers took to social media, with one Virgin Atlantic passenger saying he was unable to get through to make changes to a flight scheduled for Sunday.