More travel agencies commit to 14-day flight refunds

More online travel agencies are committing to refund travellers within 14 days for cancelled flights, following dialogue with the EU and consumer authorities. Following a dialogue with the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities, Expedia and Lastminute.com are committing to better inform consumers of their rights and to ensure travellers receive ticket refunds within 14 days in case of a flight cancellation by the airline.

The dialogue, led by the Swedish Consumer Agency, sought to encourage online travel agencies to voluntarily adopt practices that enhance consumer’s protection and knowledge of their rights, as well as platform’s compliance with EU legislation. It builds on a 2023 coordinated action which secured the same commitments from Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group, and Kiwi.com. This brings the total to five major online travel agencies adhering to the same commitments.

Lastminute.com agreed to implement most of the commitments starting on 1 July 2025, with full implementation by 1 September 2025, while Expedia has declared that its practices are in line with the agreed commitments.

The network of European consumer protection authorities says it will monitor whether Expedia and Lastminute.com have correctly implemented the commitments by the agreed timeline. The network will also continue to monitor the implementation of the commitments by Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group and Kiwi.com. It promises in addition to continue promoting the commitments to other online travel agencies.

Source: EUbusiness