Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to put in place a compensation package for persons who booked flights prior to 16 March 2020 for summer 2020 in cases in which airlines are insisting on flying thus forcing families to either risk Covid-19 and bring back a second wave of the virus here or lose significant sums of money (details supplied). [16408/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy has identified a difficulty with the legal requirements on airlines under EU law. Under EU Regulation 261, air passengers are entitled to a full cash refund within 7 days in instances where a flight is cancelled by an airline. However, if a flight goes ahead and a customer does not use their ticket, they are not entitled to a refund. I understand that the main Irish airlines have been offering the option to rebook in circumstances where a flight occurs but people are not able to present because of Government advices.

Clearly the existing consumer protections and legal obligations on airlines and the broader travel sector did not envisage the current circumstances of mass cancellations and stringent travel restrictions. That has, not surprisingly, put the entire system under immense pressure and it is causing real difficulties for people and businesses. I have had good early engagement with the airlines and the aviation sector generally, including around consumer rights issues. As the Government crystalises its thinking around the measures needed for aviation, I can assure the Deputy that the issue he has raised will be part of those deliberations.