Saint Lucia has recently passed the Consumer Protection Act which ensures a mechanism to compensate consumers and/or settle disputes says Commerce Minister Hon. Emma Hippolyte.
The Minister says passengers affected by flight delays or cancellations will be compensated.
She says once it is proven that the fault is truly that of the airline or service provider then the consumers should be compensated.
“When persons purchase a ticket, they get into a contractual arrangement and like any other service and if there is a moment where we can identify that the error is actually on the part of the service provider then the consumer should be compensated.” she says.
Hippolyte notes that this will have an effect on not only the airline industry but also other service providers.
“I suspect that this is going to have implications for other services providers not only the airline industries.”
“That is what we are attempting to do, to have a level playing field in mechanisms where service providers and providers of goods and services generally can provide fair service and where a consumer is impacted that there is a mechanism in place for the consumer to get compensation.” she added.
Former President of the National Consumer Association, Kingsley St. Hill previously welcomed Joe Biden’s move to get US airlines to compensate travelers stranded due to carriers’ fault.
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