Airlines earn £265k a day on card fees

TRAVELLERS are paying £265,000 a day in card surcharges when booking air tickets – as many carriers have been introducing or increasing their fees in an apparent 11th-hour attempt to rake in extra cash before the ban on excessive charges comes in next year.

New government rules will ban excessive debit and credit card charges on flight bookings. But is likely to be 12 months before the new legislation comes into effect – and consumer watchdog Which? has found that a number of airlines have actually increased their charges since the impending ban was announced.

BMIbaby, Flybe, Jet2 and Ryanair have all increased their surcharges since Which? submitted a supercomplaint to the Office of Fair Trading last March, while Swiss and Lufthansa have introduced surcharges of £4.50 per passenger.

“The government’s decision to ban these rip-off surcharges is a huge victory for the consumer, but businesses shouldn’t see this as an opportunity to rake in extra cash before the ban comes in,” said Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.

A spokeswoman for Abta said: “It is only fair that companies can charge to cover their costs. However, charges should reasonably reflect what these are and be made transparent.”