This comment from Stephen Howarth is in response to the article: EU bans no-show return cancellations.
For years, certain global carriers have generated massive revenue from aggressive no-show policies while offloading immense pressure on to travel agents to secure pre-departure refunds.
The European Parliament's landmark ban on auto-cancelling return flights is a massive, long-overdue victory for the travel trade and consumer transparency. However, experienced agents know that airlines rarely let revenue streams disappear without a fight. While carriers can no longer legally strip a passenger of their return seat on EU routes, we must remain vigilant against alternative commercial tactics. We anticipate that airlines will pivot toward aggressive, gate-side fare recalculations, or artificially inflate one-way pricing models to penalise changes in travel patterns. Can you imagine!
