German airline Lufthansa is facing criticism after canceling thousands of flights for the summer season, and in some cases denying passengers the right to an alternative itinerary, despite European rules protecting air passengers.
According to a report by The Independent, Lufthansa has canceled at least 20,000 departures over the summer, mainly due to the closure of its regional subsidiary CityLine and high fuel costs.
One of the cases is that of Rhona Taylor, a passenger from Scotland, who had booked a flight from Glasgow to Frankfurt in June. Her outbound flight was replaced with another from Edinburgh, but the return flight from Frankfurt was cancelled altogether.
According to her, Lufthansa offered her only two options: refund or use of the ticket on another date, without proposing any other travel alternatives.
The company stated that "there was no reasonable alternative within the Lufthansa group", but the British civil aviation authority said that passengers have a legal right to be transported on other airlines if the original route is cancelled.
According to the interpretation of the British authorities, companies must offer alternative itineraries, including nearby airports, indirect flights or tickets with other lines.
The case has raised new concerns about the treatment of passengers by European airlines during the summer wave of cancellations.
