Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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442. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address the queries raised in correspondence from a person (details supplied) in relation to their intention in taking a holiday abroad in 2020 and subsequent attempts to secure a refund from the airline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20554/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Air passenger rights are protected by Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, which covers the rights of passengers in instances of flight cancellations. Under the Regulation, if an airline cancels a flight then customers are entitled to a full cash refund within 7 days.

I have raised the matter of customer refunds with our main airlines, over the past number of months, both in person and in writing, and it is understood that the backlogs have been prioritised and that most refunds have now been processed. However, difficulties in receiving refunds have been reported in cases where flight bookings were made through third-parties, as in this case.

I would encourage anyone who having already corresponded with the airline continues to have difficulties securing a refund to contact the Commission for Aviation Regulation, the statutory body in Ireland with responsibility for enforcing airline refund obligations. Further advice, including information on how you might submit a formal complaint to the CAR is available on its dedicated passenger rights website www.flightrights.ie.