Each EU country has appointed a ‘national authority’ to ensure compliance with European Commission Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, “establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights”.
The European Commission recommends first trying to obtain a refund from the airline. If that fails, it recommends completeing the AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS EU COMPLAINT FORM and sending the completed form to the responsible national authority. Note: the form is available in languages other than English.
In the case of Greece, the national authority is:-
Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority Air Transport and International Agreements Div Air Transport Economics Section D1/D P.O.B. 70360 EL – 16610 GLYFADA Tel. : +30 210 9973162 +30 210 9973156 Fax : +30 210 894 7132 d1d@hcaa.gr http://www.ypa.gr/en/passenger-rights/
I chose the email route.
I attach an ‘AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS – EU COMPLAINT FORM’ in respect of Aegean Airlines’ contravention of European Commission Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 in refusing to provide a full cash refund for flights it cancelled.
I look forward to confirmation from you that you have received this complaint and are pursuing the matter with Aegean Airlines.
Regards,
Alan King
Dear good afternoon
In reply to your e-mail regarding the refund of your ticket, we kindly inform you of the following:
According to National Law (recently issued Act of Legislative Content) published in Hellenic Nαtional Gazette Number A 84 / 13.04.2020 regarding the measures to address the ongoing consequences of the pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19, all requests for refunds of air tickets for passengers due to flight cancellations from 25th February to 30th September 2020, shall be satisfied by providing to the passenger a credit voucher of equal value of the ticket paid for the canceled flight. The credit voucher is issued by the carrier and has a validity period of eighteen (18) months from the date of its issuance. During the eighteen months period, the passenger may at any time make use of this voucher for any destination of the carrier’s network. If the credit voucher has not been used during this period, the passenger is entitled to refund the full amount of the ticket.
Best regards
Maria Fitraki
Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority
Air Transport Economics Section D1/D
Well – I guess that was predictable – they’re all singing from the same song-sheet – the Greek government’s illegal ‘pick-pocket law’.
After hearing from another dissatisfied Aegean passenger who had written to the HCAA and had received a different, more positive response, I wrote again to the HCAA.
I am contacting you for the second and last time before I refer your organisation to the European Commission for failing to carry out your legal duty to enforce EU law.
I attach an ‘AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS – EU COMPLAINT FORM’ in respect of Aegean Airlines’ contravention of European Commission Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 in refusing to provide a full cash refund for flights it cancelled.
I look forward to confirmation from you that you have received this complaint and are pursuing the matter with Aegean Airlines.
Regards
The next morning, I received a response from the HCAA with EXACTLY the same text as the first one – even down to the ‘Dear good afternoon ‘, even though I received it at 11:36 in the morning. It’s obviously a ‘cut and paste’ job – they don’t bother to read the message.
I shall be pursuing this failure of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority with the EC but, for now, the main fight is more pressing.
The next step on ‘The Road to Refund’ – Adina Vălean, the European Commissioner for Transport.