The 'no-show' clauses are a nasty shock for passengers who have already missed a flight. Photo / Getty Images
The 'no-show' clauses are a nasty shock for passengers who have already missed a flight. Photo / Getty Images
Imagine having overcome the hurdle of a missed flight only to find at the end of your holiday the airline has cancelled your flight home. This disaster scenario is not uncommon.
Airlines are routinely cancelling passengers' return flights if they miss the outbound plane.
These 'no-show' clauses are often deep in the small print of booking terms when you pay for a holiday. In practice it's a nasty way to rip off passengers in order to resell potentially unused seats.
Even if a traveller does make it to their destination on a different service – they can't rely on a return trip to be waiting for them.
On flights with these 'no-show' clauses, refunds are not usually given allowing carriers to make extra sales on missed seats.
"Missing a flight because you're stuck in traffic or on a delayed train is frustrating enough, but for the airline to then turn around and say your return journey is cancelled as well is completely unfair and unjustified," said Which?'s Alex Neil in an interview with the Daily Mail.
"We don't think there's any good reason for a no-show clause to exist. It only works in favour of the airline. It should be removed immediately by airlines, who need to show more respect for their passengers."
To book back onto a return flight passengers often have to pay over the odds to buy another, last minute flight or are charged a "penalty fee" to use their original tickets.
One traveller with Virgin Atlantic reported having paid £1,354 ($2500) to return home after missing her original outbound flight from London to New York. This was more than the cost of her original ticket.
One Virgin Atlantic passenger had to pay a re-booking fee of more than her original ticket. Photo / Getty Images
Which? made a list of nine carriers that were potentially breaking EU laws with no-show fees. This list of airlines with such clauses ( named by Which?as British Airways, Emirates, Flybe and Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Air France, Swiss, Qatar and Singapore airlines ) were contacted by the magazine to inform them that they are in breach of the Consumer Rights act.
A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic responded, saying: "We are aware of the report and are in the process of investigating further. We never want to disappoint our customers, and make our terms and conditions clear at the point of booking."
The report on 'no-show' charges comes after a report by the UK Government revealed passengers were being charged more than $800million a year in hidden charges, such as baggage fees and unnecessary seat reservations.
