Consumers Helpless Against Flight Delays and Cancellations...Urgent Need for System Improvement

Legislative Research Office Publishes 'NARS Issue Analysis Report'
"Build Reliable Data to Minimize Damage"

As travel demand, which had been suppressed after the COVID-19 endemic, explodes, air travel demand is rapidly increasing. Consequently, disputes between airline ticket buyers and airlines are also on the rise. Since the level of air traffic service may deteriorate, increasing the likelihood of harm to users, there are calls for urgent institutional improvements.

The duty-free area of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 is bustling with travelers.

On the 7th, the National Assembly Legislative Research Office published the 'NARS Issue Analysis Report' titled "Current Status and Improvement Tasks for Protecting the Rights and Interests of Air Traffic Users - Focusing on Flight Delays and Cancellations."

According to the report, although South Korea has established regulations to protect air traffic users in laws such as the "Aviation Business Act," "Commercial Act," and "Standards for Protecting Air Traffic Users," air traffic users continue to experience inconveniences or claim damages.

In fact, the number of damage relief cases filed by air traffic users has been increasing every year. As of 2022, the types of damage relief cases were ▲excessive penalties or refusal of refunds upon ticket purchase cancellation (69%) ▲non-performance or delay of transportation (15%) ▲others (9%) ▲loss, damage, or delay of checked baggage (3%) ▲insufficient information provision (2%), in that order.

The "others" category refers to issues such as mileage accumulation and expiration, and boarding difficulties due to lack of facilities for transportation-vulnerable persons.

Looking at the number of damage relief cases by year, the figures steadily increased from ▲2017 (1,252 cases) ▲2018 (1,437 cases) ▲2019 (1,073 cases) ▲2020 (2,576 cases), then decreased to ▲2021 (484 cases), before more than doubling again to 1,125 cases last year.

Since flight delays and cancellations are among the main causes of harm experienced by air traffic users, it is necessary to build reliable data, analyze the causes of delays and cancellations by airline, airport, route, and time slot, and prepare specific management plans considering various factors affecting delays such as airport operations and air traffic control.

No Legal Definition for Flight 'Delays'... "Compensation Should Be Specifically Regulated"

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In cases where delays or cancellations occur due to force majeure, it is necessary for air transport operators to take all reasonable measures to prevent damage to users.

However, there is no legal definition of flight "delay" domestically or internationally. In Korea, the "Aviation Statistics Compilation Manual" provides criteria for delays and cancellations for statistical purposes, but even this is insufficient.

Therefore, the Legislative Research Office emphasized the need to stipulate that if air transport operators fail to fulfill their obligations to notify air traffic users of changes in flight plans such as transport delays, they should compensate the users for damages.

The office also pointed out the need to provide information that can better assist air traffic users in making choices, such as average delay times, long-term delay rates, flights that are regularly delayed, and reasons for delays.

Additionally, it suggested considering the introduction of a compensation system to actively protect air traffic users. In the EU, passengers can receive compensation according to set standards if flights are delayed beyond a certain time, and recently, the United States has announced plans to mandate airline compensation for delays and cancellations in a manner similar to the EU. It emphasized that Korea also needs to mandate sufficient compensation for users.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.