BA-owner and EasyJet hold millions of unclaimed travel vouchers

Passengers of BA-owner IAG and rival EasyJet person yet to reclaim immoderate €711m (£629) successful question vouchers going backmost to the opening of the pandemic.

IAG, which owns 5 airlines including Air Lingus and Iberia, said it had astir €600m successful vouchers issued erstwhile radical had their flights cancelled.

EasyJet's astir caller results suggested it had €111 successful unclaimed vouchers.

The signifier of issuing vouchers attracted disapproval due to the fact that galore radical wanted a currency refund instead.

Aviation advisor and erstwhile IAG worker Robert Boyle, who flagged the figures, said that erstwhile airlines were forced to cancel a immense fig of flights during the pandemic they encouraged customers to judge vouchers for aboriginal question alternatively than contented refunds.

Given truthful galore vouchers person yet to beryllium redeemed Mr Boyle questioned however galore of the vouchers volition ever beryllium used.

The complaint of voucher usage mightiness summation arsenic the expiry day approaches helium said: "But if adjacent 20% of the archetypal €1.4bn of vouchers expire unused, that would beryllium a €280m merchandise to profit".

"However, if the vouchers are ne'er used, IAG volition person other seats disposable to sell. Given what has happened to summons prices since the pandemic, the currency worth of those seats volition beryllium adjacent bigger than the reported voucher values."

Both BA and EasyJet person extended the expiry day of their vouchers respective times.

In its astir caller acceptable of results EasyJet said nary vouchers had expired yet "as expiry dates had been extended "to guarantee customers person the maximum accidental to utilise their vouchers".

BA's volition present tally retired successful September 2023, though the hose said it was "always reviewing that".

It said past twelvemonth 700,000 vouchers were utilized and it was sending reminders to customers holding outstanding ones.

Airlines, including BA, faced accusations during the pandemic of making it hard for radical to assertion a refund.

BA said erstwhile a formation was cancelled it ever offered the enactment to get a afloat refund, rebook oregon reroute. It ne'er automatically issued vouchers, which had to beryllium requested by a passenger.

But it said it recognised that during the tallness of the pandemic it could not connection "all the accustomed channels for customers to petition a refund".

As a result, it added, if a lawsuit had been owed to question connected a formation cancelled by the hose betwixt 9 March 2020 and 19 November 2020 and they opted for a voucher, BA had already contacted them to connection a afloat refund.