Some airlines and airports are members of alternate dispute resolution bodies (ADR). Some of these bodies have been approved by the CAA for providing a high standard of dispute resolution for consumer disputes stemming from a contract for aviation services; others will have been approved by other EU Member States.

If you have been dissatisfied with the response of an airline or airport to your complaint, you should be sent information on whether ADR is available in the airline/airport's final response. If you have not received a final response in eight or more weeks, you may also be able to refer your complaint to the ADR body directly - check below for whether your airline has agreed to participate in an ADR scheme, and for the contact details of the different CAA-approved ADR bodies.

Airline ADR schemes must handle the following types of complaints:

• Denied boarding, delay, or cancellation;
• Destruction, damage, loss, or delayed transportation of baggage;
• Destruction, damage, or loss of items worn or carried by the passenger;
• Problems faced by disabled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility when using air transport services (i.e. complaints about airlines arising under Regulation EC1107);
  and
• Any disputes arising where the consumer alleges that the business is not trading fairly. Here we are referring to situations where the consumer has been misled, for example into paying more for the flight or into buying something that they didn't actually want, where the consumer has been harmed by the use by the business of an unfair contract term, or where the consumer has been otherwise harmed by the breach by the business of general consumer protection law. Such disputes must be specific to the fairness of a particular contract term or commercial practice in relation to the customers individual circumstances. Airline ADR schemes are not required to handle disputes about the general fairness of the terms of a contract for aviation services or the general fairness of an airlines commercial practices. 

Airport ADR schemes handle complaints regarding:

• Problems faced by disabled passengers with reduced mobility when using air transport services

Contact details of ADR providers