The fallout, forgive the pun, from the Icelandic Volcanic ash episode has still not settled. Whilst most people; though not all, are at the destinations they wanted to be, European airlines are counting the cost of the ‘no fly’ rule imposed on them across European airspace.
“Your safety”, as airlines constantly tell us, “is our main concern.” What was clear from the volcanic ash episode was that absolutely nobody wanted to put their name down to state that ‘flying through such ash was safe for an airline.’ This is especially true for the insurance companies that cover both planes and passengers.
From the airlines perspective, safety quickly took to the back burner when they realised that the ‘no fly’ regime was costing them millions and with no end in sight. As if by a miracle, a unified airline voice then appeared saying that the ash was indeed safe to fly through. No economic consideration here of course (sic).
Some sympathy perhaps should be earmarked for airlines that, through EU Regulation EU261/2004 have the ‘responsibility to feed and accommodate passengers booked on flights that are cancelled.’ However the law, when drafted was meant as a guideline when airlines themselves had individual delays or cancelled flights and not when force majeure kicked in.
Scheduled airlines suddenly found themselves having to accommodate and feed thousands of travellers when the only contract they had was to transport a passenger from A to B. It was not ‘they’ who cancelled the flights but respective European states. Should they therefore have to bear the cost of all the hospitality? Possibly not. Does a coach company of a train operator have to bear the same costs? The answer is no; all they have to do is refund the ticket costs. So why be different to airlines?
Are we going unusually soft on airlines? Not really and perhaps the airlines have made a rod for their own back. The European Union has targeted airlines over the years with regulations to make them ethical and reliable. The fact that the same airlines even today appear to be adopting every trick in the book to manipulate fares through spurious taxes and option less add ons, means often they are viewed as public enemy number 1. If the airlines suffered during the Ash crises they are likely to be few travellers weeping in sympathy for them. What goes around comes around!
That said, the obligations for Tour Operators is somewhat different and they would find it
Considerably harder to rid themselves of their responsibility to package tourists who they have transported abroad. One hopes that the Bulgarian Tour Operators had the means and ability to fulfill their own obligations during the crises.
Mark Thomas
Managing Director
HRG Bulgaria
Jam Advice Travel Agents
HRG Worldwide in Bulgaria
