If you experience a problem when flying, you should first complain to your airline or airport. You will usually find more information on their complaint handling processes on their websites, including whether you can submit a complaint online. You can also find more information on making a complaint at this link.
If you cannot resolve your complaint with your airline or airport, you may be able to ask for it to be reviewed independently by an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider.
If your airline or airport is not signed up to an ADR provider, the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) may be able to help.
PACT will review your complaint and advise if they can take it up with your airline or airport. However, unlike CAA approved ADR providers, PACT cannot make a binding decision on your airline or airport.
If you live in Northern Ireland, the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland may also be able to assist you.
What is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)?
ADR is a system which provides you with an independent decision on your complaint without the need to go to court. It is free to use and, in most cases, will provide you with its decision within three months.
ADR providers will look at the information you and the airline or airport submit to them and provide you with an independent decision.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for approving ADR providers in relation to air passenger complaints. We have approved two ADR providers: AviationADR (CDRL) and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).
Most airlines and airports in the UK are signed up to one of these providers (or in some cases to an ADR provider in another country). You can find a list of the airlines and airports which have signed up to an ADR provider below.
ADR is simple and free and is a faster alternative to going through the courts for resolving disputes. If you use an ADR provider and are not happy with the outcome, you can still take legal action against the airline or airport.
What types of complaint can I take to ADR?
For airlines, the types of complaints that an ADR provider can consider include:
- Denied boarding, flight delays, or flight cancellations;
- Baggage issues including destruction, damage, loss or delay of baggage;
- Assistance for disabled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility; or
- Issues where passengers feel they were misled or treated unfairly and experienced financial harm as a result.
ADR providers cannot handle complaints about the general fairness of an airline’s terms and conditions or business practices. They also cannot consider personal injury issues, and you would need to seek specialist legal advice for these.
For airports, ADR providers can look at complaints about help for disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility. They cannot deal with other issues, such as customer service, parking charges or long security queues.
How do I take my complaint to ADR?
Submitting your complaint
You must first complain to your airline or airport and give them an opportunity to resolve your issue. Airlines and airports usually tell you how to complain on their website.
If your airline or airport cannot resolve your complaint, they should tell you if they are signed up to ADR and how to contact their ADR provider about your complaint. You can also take your complaint to your airline or airport’s ADR provider if they have not responded to you within eight weeks of your written complaint. Neither AviationADR or CEDR can help you if you have not first raised a complaint with your airline or airport.
You can submit your complaint online through the relevant ADR provider’s website. ADR providers do not investigate the facts, and their decisions are based on the information submitted by you and your airport or airline. To support your claim, ensure you include all relevant documents, itemised receipts, all available evidence, along with a clear and concise summary of the issue(s).
If you cannot submit a complaint online or require reasonable adjustments, you can submit a complaint by post or telephone instead. Contact information can be found on AviationADR’s and CEDR’s websites and on the list of ADR providers below.
You can use ADR for issues or incidents that happened within the last six years (or five years if you live in Scotland). You also need to submit your complaint to the relevant ADR provider within 12 months of receiving a final response from the airline or airport. If you did not receive a response, you must submit your complaint to the relevant ADR provider within 12 months of your last written communication to them.
What happens next
Once the ADR provider has received the information it needs from you, it will review your complaint to make sure it is able to handle the issue. If the ADR provider can’t take on your complaint, it will let you know. The ADR provider may also contact you for more information. This process can typically take up to 3 weeks.
If your complaint is accepted, it will then be sent to your airline or airport. Your airline or airport will be allowed a reasonable time to review it and decide if it wishes to settle (partially or fully) or defend it.
If your airline or airport defends your complaint, it will submit its defence to the ADR provider, setting out information and its position on your complaint. You will get to see the defence and will have the opportunity to comment, but you cannot raise new points at this stage.
All the relevant information and evidence relating to your complaint is then passed to an adjudicator. The adjudicator will carefully consider this, the individual facts, and how they relate to consumer protection legislation and will then reach an independent decision on your complaint.
The adjudicator’s decision
You will receive the adjudicator’s decision in writing. Please note that this can take up to three months.
If you are content with the adjudicator’s decision, you can accept the outcome. The airline or airport is then required to follow this.
The adjudicator’s decision is generally final and cannot be appealed to either the ADR provider or the CAA. However, if you are unhappy with the decision for any reason, you do not have to accept it, and you still have the option to take legal action against your airline or airport through the courts.
What if I have a complaint about the service provided by the ADR provider?
If you are unhappy with the service provided to you by an ADR provider, you may be able to make a complaint directly to that provider. This is called a ‘service complaint’.
The service complaint process is designed to address shortcomings in ADR providers’ processes and services. You can read more about the types of service complaints that ADR providers accept and the processes for raising a service complaint on AviationADR’s and CEDR’s websites. The service complaint process for both ADR providers cannot generally be used for challenging an adjudicator’s decision.
If you cannot resolve your service complaint, you may be able to refer it to the ADR provider’s Independent Assessor. The Independent Assessor will consider the grounds of your service complaint; any relevant supporting evidence and the service provided to you by the ADR provider. The Independent Assessor will then make a recommendation to the ADR provider which may include a goodwill payment. You will be notified of the outcome in writing.
This is the final step of the service complaints process. The CAA cannot intervene in a service complaint nor in the Independent Assessor’s recommendations.
Claims management companies
ADR is free for consumers, and the schemes are designed to be simple to use. You do not need to use a third-party claims management company (CMC) to take your complaint to ADR. Both AviationADR and CEDR also have processes in place to help you if you require reasonable adjustments to use their services.
CMCs may offer to take up your complaint for you. These companies may then refer your complaint to the relevant CAA-approved ADR provider, using the same services and processes that you are entitled to access yourself for free.
You are entitled to ask a CMC to take up your complaint, but you should be aware that if the ADR provider awards you a payment the CMC may deduct a significant proportion of this as their fee.
Which airlines and airports are covered by ADR schemes?
The following airlines and airports have signed up to a CAA-approved ADR scheme.
AviationADR (CDRL)
- Air Astana
- Air Baltic
- Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge
- Air France
- Asiana Airlines
- Buzz
- Delta Air Lines
- easyJet
- EgyptAir
- Garuda Indonesia
- KLM
- Lauda
- Malta Air
- Royal Brunei
- Ryanair
- TAP Air Portugal
- TUI Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Wizz Air
- Humberside Airport
- London City Airport
- East Midlands Airport
AviationADR (Consumer Dispute Resolution Limited)
12-14 Walker Avenue
Stratford Office Village
Wolverton Mill
Milton Keynes
MK12 5TW
0203 540 8063
Website: https://www.aviationadr.org.uk/
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
- BA CityFlyer
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Norse Atlantic UK
- Scandinavian Airlines SAS
- Bristol Airport
- Cornwall Airport
- London Gatwick Airport
- London Heathrow Airport
- London Stansted Airport
- Manchester Airport
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
International Dispute Resolution Centre
100 St. Paul's Churchyard
London
EC4M 8BU
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7536 6000
Website: www.cedr.com/aviation
The following airlines have signed up to an ADR provider registered in another country which may still be able to handle your complaint. This ADR provider has not been approved by the CAA but has been approved by an authority in another country.
Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr
- Austrian Airlines
- Brussels Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Swiss
Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr
Fasanenstraße 81
10623 Berlin
+49 (0) 30 6 44 99 33 – 0
Website: https://www.schlichtung-reise-und-verkehr.de/en/