LCQ11: Compensation arrangements for flight delays
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     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (February 15):

Question:

     It has been reported that a celebrity in the catering industry who took a flight of a local airline to London claimed compensation from the airline for a nine-hour flight delay, and he brought along journalists to cover the process of making the claim at the scene.  Consequently, the celebrity and his five companions were indemnified for their loss according to the amounts shown on receipts, and each person was also compensated $40,000 in cash and a one-night hotel stay, and the celebrity was even offered an upgrade of his seat to business class.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) given that quite a number of members of the public complained to my office in the past that there was no government department responsible for coordinating and handling complaints and disputes arising from flight delays, in particular when passengers were forced to take later flights due to the overbooking policy of airlines, and that the recent spate of flight delays have resulted in passengers refusing to board or get off planes, or caused confusions at the airport, and seriously affected public order at the airport and its image, through which channel passengers can lodge complaints to the Government in case of flight delays at present; whether there is currently any policy bureau or government department responsible for coordinating and handling complaints or disputes arising from flight delays, and whether there is any official who will handle such complaints or disputes during non-office hours; if not, whether it will immediately conduct a review and formulate counter-measures;

(b) whether it knows the policies to deal with flight delays adopted by the governments of the five countries with the highest number of flights among various countries in Europe, the United States and Asia; whether any department is designated to be responsible for that; whether the SAR Government will make reference to the practices of such countries, and extend or improve the current approach of handling in order to reduce the number of disputes between airlines and passengers, with a view to safeguarding the reputation of the tourism industry of Hong Kong; if it will, of the plan; if not, the reasons for that;

(c) of the number of complaints received by the Government in each of the past three years involving flight delays; whether and how it will handle the complaints received; whether it has established the handling procedures; of the approximate time required to deal with each complaint; whether it knows the compensation criteria adopted by the airlines, as well as the highest amount of compensation in the past three years; and

(d) given that after the aforesaid incident had been reported by the media, a member of the public who was a frequent patron of that airline for many years indicated that in a number of flight-delay incidents in the past, he was offered only an upgrade of his seat or a one-night hotel stay, and he doubted that it was under the pressure of "the hegemony of celebrity" (i.e. the effect created by the celebrity and the journalists together) that the airline paid high compensation in order to settle the matter to avoid trouble, resulting in a huge difference between the above incident and other similar cases in terms of the compensation amount, whether the Government had received complaints regarding the huge difference between the above incident and other similar cases in terms of the compensation amount, as well as other complaints about huge differences in compensation amounts for flight delays in the past three years; if it had, whether it has followed up the reasons for such huge differences in compensation amounts involved in such complaints; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it can take the initiative to make enquiries with the airlines concerned?

Reply:

President,

(a) There are various factors causing flight delays, including inclement weather, technical difficulties and other emergency incidents, etc.  In case of flight delays, the concerned airline will make appropriate contingency arrangements in accordance with the company policy and procedures, including re-scheduling flights to expedite the clearance of stranded passengers in order to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers as far as possible.  In addition, when there is flight delay, the Airport Authority (AA) will make necessary arrangements and provide assistance such as providing affected passengers at the Hong Kong International Airport with necessities like blankets, bottled water and snacks.  Besides, AA will provide information to passengers, for instance, contact details of the airlines, embassies and the Immigration Department, etc., in order to assist the passengers in need.  

     As matters relating to the complaints and compensation arising from flight delays are contractual issues between the airlines and the passengers, they should be resolved between the two parties through negotiation.

(b) We at present do not have information on the dispute handling arrangements of other countries in case of flight delays.  As stated in (a) above, the arrangements in case of flight delays are contractual issues between the airlines and the passengers which should in general be settled by the two parties through negotiation.  

(c) The number of complaints relating to flight delay received by the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) during the period from 2009 to 2011 are set out below -

     2009     2010     2011
     ----     ----     ----
      1         3        0

     Upon receipt of the complaints, CAD will refer them to the airlines concerned for follow-up in accordance with their established procedures.  Compensation criteria and the related arrangements are to be determined in accordance with the policy of individual airlines.  The Administration does not have information on the compensation criteria adopted by the airlines or the highest amount of compensation paid.

(d) CAD has not received similar complaints over the past three years.  In general, airlines will make decision on compensation and other compensatory arrangements based on their commercial considerations and established procedures.  It is understood that the Cathay Pacific Airways has internal guidelines to deal with the situation when there are disruptions to flight schedules, so as to minimise the inconvenience caused to the passengers.  In general, the airline will make necessary arrangements according to the circumstances of each case, such as the duration and the cause of delay.  Besides, airlines will also consider the specific conditions and needs of the individual passengers in considering the follow-up work, including the provision of hotel accommodation, arranging re-routing by other carriers, and, in special circumstances, the provision of contingency cash allowances for the passengers.  

     The matter mentioned in the question is the arrangement between the airline and individual passengers, and it is not appropriate for the Administration to follow up on the details.

Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:09

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