NATCP actions to protect air passengers' rights

The National Authority for Trade and Consumer Protection (NATCP) has launched a nationwide thematic investigation to monitor the enforcement of consumer rights for air passengers. The aim of the initiative is to provide passengers with a more safe and reliable use of air transport and to ensure that they receive uniform and transparent information on the handling of their complaints, in order to protect the interests of Hungarian families.

Compared to the often chaotic conditions at airports in the summer of previous years, the autumn of 2024 has seen a significant improvement at Hungarian airports. There was a marked decrease in the number of flight delays and cancellations, thanks to decisive government action.

However, problems with air transport - such as delays, cancelled flights and difficulties in dealing with complaints - remain. Further targeted consumer protection checks are therefore needed to effectively protect air passengers' rights.

In order to effectively enforce consumer rights, a special thematic investigation was started last year, which resulted in 106 notifications of violations of air passenger rights. The majority of complaints (86% of notifications) involved delays of more than three hours, but in many cases consumers contacted the authority about cancelled services.

In the majority of the cases handled by the competent government agency, the airline acknowledged its obligation to compensate and paid the amount due to passengers, so no sanction was imposed.

In this year's national thematic investigation, the consumer protection authority will monitor compliance with air passenger rights, including complaint handling procedures. It also carries out test purchases to detect unfair commercial practices in the operation of customer services, in particular the screening of premium rate calls, and the appropriate and transparent information published on airlines' websites.

The President of the NATCP, Dr. Lilla Német-Weingartner Lilla, pointed out that "the purpose of the inquiry is to make airline operations more transparent, complaint handling more efficient and consumer enforcement faster. We encourage passengers to feel free to report their problems to the NATCP or government offices, as such feedback is an important basis for identifying and resolving infringements."