[Anchor]
When a flight is suddenly canceled or delayed due to an airline's fault, travel plans including hotel and vehicle reservations fall apart. Even so, receiving proper compensation is not easy. It has been revealed that while airlines impose cancellation fees for consumer responsibilities, they maintain flawed terms that lack even compensation guidelines for their own faults.
Here is a report by Jeong Seong-jin.
[Reporter]
Park, who booked a flight to Phu Quoc, Vietnam, for a summer vacation, received a shocking text message a month before departure.
[Park/Victim of Airline Cancellation]: "I received a notice that it was difficult to operate the route due to the Middle East war. Since I had already booked hotels and resorts and everything..."
All the airline offered was a refund for the existing ticket or an alternative ticket to another city in Vietnam.
[Park/Victim of Airline Cancellation]: "I asked them to secure an alternative flight even if it meant using another airline, but they said that was absolutely impossible."
Park managed to secure an alternative ticket that was three to four times more expensive, but the airline cited its terms and conditions to refuse additional compensation.
According to an investigation by the Korea Consumer Agency into the passenger transport terms of 22 domestic and foreign airlines, 21 airlines either had no compensation regulations other than fare refunds in the event of cancellations caused by the airline, or left the decision of compensation entirely to the airline's discretion.
This contrasts sharply with airlines charging cancellation fees when trips are canceled due to consumer circumstances.
Airlines also invoked their terms to refuse refunds when boarding was denied due to overbooking, or to deny compensation by claiming "force majeure" when a flight was canceled due to the pilot's health issues.
Grievance applications related to airline services have increased every year, reaching 3,200 cases last year and ranking first among consumer damage reports.
While the European Union and Canada have legal regulations for compensation when flights are canceled due to airline fault, South Korea only has consumer dispute resolution standards without legal binding force.
[Jeon Woo-sung / Senior Researcher, AI Advertising Monitoring Team, Market Investigation Bureau, Korea Consumer Agency]: "Consumers must apply for damage relief or individually file a lawsuit to directly prove their losses, making it difficult to receive proper compensation. Institutional supplementation, such as stipulating liability for compensation regarding cancellations, is necessary."
The Consumer Agency plans to recommend airlines to improve unfavorable terms and discuss institutional improvements, such as legislation, with relevant ministries.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Seol Chi-hwan, Video by Jeon Min-gyu, Design by Kim Ye-ji)
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