Consumer rights group in Spain reports Vueling and Ryanair over coronavirus refund policies

LOW cost airlines Ryanair and Vueling have had official complaints made against them over refunds for cancelled flights.

The FACUA-Consumers organisation has denounced Ryanair to the State Agency for Air Safety (AESA) for making cash refunds ‘difficult to get.’

FACUA wants Vueling to be fined for only offering vouchers for new flights with no mention of refunds.

In Ryanair’s case, the association has seen a flood of queries and complaints from users who are finding it difficult to get their money back.

Although a quick Google of ‘refunds Ryanair’ does show an application form as the first result. A similar search for Vueling produced an error message.

FACUA claims that affected passengers for Vueling have been receiving an email saying that if they do not want to accept the voucher option they should contact the airline to change flights or claim a refund, and links to its website.

However, nowhere does this link allow the user to get their money back, and it only provides information about the voucher and how to apply for it, FACUA said.

The consumer organisation warns that the practices of some airlines will lead to a logjam in courts as people try to get their cash back.

It adds that not giving a refund has no possible justification as current technology allows for an automatic and almost immediate refund.